The new Chalacatepec International Airport in Costalegre, Jalisco, is near completion and a new cargo terminal is in development for an existing airport in in the eastern municipality of Lagos de Moreno, according to state Governor Pablo Lemus.
Chalacatepec is being developed using state funding and is expected to commence operations by the end of the year. It is hoped that it will boost the region’s economic development.
The state government aims to establish “a public-private partnership scheme for operation… [and] Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA) is at that stage of launching that tender to find out who might be interested,” Lemus was reported saying on news site El Economista. Meanwhile, “Lagos de Moreno is an airport with private investment that requires the respective authorizations,” the governor said.
Chalacatepec is being constructed on Jalisco’s Costalegre coast. It will be Jalisco’s third international airport after Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta, both of which are managed by Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), which operates 12 airports across Mexico’s Pacific coast.
The pre-existing runway has been renovated with 102 million pesos (US $5 million) of funding from the Infrastructure and Public Works Ministry. The project consists of a platform, taxiways, a 3,000-square-foot terminal building and a 500-foot connection road to the parking lot.
The Costalegre region was voted as one of the best destinations in the world to visit in 2025 by the travel magazine Travel and Leisure.
“This recognition proves that it was worth fighting these six years to make the beaches of Costalegre a gateway to world tourism through the Puerto Vallarta International Airport or what will soon be the third airport in Jalisco, Chalacatepec,” Jalisco’s former governor Enrique Alfaro wrote in a post on social media site X on Nov. 26.
Meanwhile, the Lagos de Moreno Airport, located on the border of Jalisco, Aguascalientes and Guanajuato, will enhance connectivity with Mexico’s central Bajío region. It consists of a 7,200-foot runway that can accommodate large aircraft such as the Boeing 737.
The airport will increase the region’s cargo capacity, helping to position Jalisco as a major logistics hub. It is also expected to support nearshoring activities, enhancing access to U.S., Canadian and European markets.
The development will attract investments and generate jobs, benefiting local industries such as poultry, agro-industry and technology, the governor said, according to the news site Kiosco Informativo.
With reports from El Economista, Players of Life, Kiosco Informativo and N+
