In a move expected to boost tourism in Mexico’s Riviera Maya, the new Tulum Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport will welcome its first direct flight from Europe at the end of the year.

Discover Airlines, a subsidiary of Lufthansa Group, will operate two flights a week from Frankfurt, Germany, to the Tulum airport during the winter season, from Dec. 12 through April 2025.

The airline also operates six weekly flights to Cancún during the summer and winter seasons and four in the low season. Once the Tulum route begins, Discover will offer daily connections to the Yucatán Peninsula from Germany.

“Discover Airlines is proud to become the first European airline to offer non-stop flights to Tulum,” the company said in a press release. “With this new route, the Frankfurt-based leisure airline is responding to the strong demand from travelers in Germany and throughout Europe.”

Mexican officials negotiated with airlines from Switzerland, Spain and Germany during last month’s International Tourism Trade Fair in Madrid, as part of efforts to attract more flights from Europe to Tulum.

Tulum, located in the state of Quintana Roo, is known for its beaches and spectacular Maya ruins and cenotes. 

Additional hotel infrastructure is being built in the region to handle the boost in international tourism the new airport is expected to provide. 

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador inaugurated the Tulum airport on Dec. 1, which boasts a terminal with capacity for 5.5 million passengers annually.

The airport will begin receiving flights from North America in March. Delta, United, American, JetBlue and Air Canada will be providing connections to 12 destinations in the United States and Canada. 

The first flights from South and Central America are also expected to begin operating soon, connecting through Panama City via Copa Airlines.

With reports from La Jornada Maya and Aviacionline