Viva Aerobus has confirmed it will be the first airline to operate flights from the new Tulum International Airport.

Head of Viva Aerobus Juan Carlos Zuazua said that the government has informed the company that the terminal will be ready for operation in April 2024. 

In the announcement, Zuazua said that the Tulum flight will seek to reinforce its Cancún route, a destination that accounted for five million passengers — 25 % of the total volume of Viva Aerobus’ travelers throughout 2022.

The Tulum flight will turn the low-cost airline into the only Mexican carrier flying to Quintana Roo’s four international airports: Cancún, Chetumal, Cozumel and, once open, Tulum.

Zuazua also said that although they would initially operate domestic routes, Viva Aerobus is negotiating an alliance with U.S. carrier Allegiant Air to connect small and medium-sized cities in the United States with the Mexican Caribbean.

Although the proposed terminal is undergoing an environmental evaluation, construction work, including jungle clearance, has begun.

In February, local activists declared the formal public consultation on the airport’s environmental impact a sham, given that at the time of the comment period’s opening on January 9, construction work on the site had already reached 20% completion, according to President López Obrador himself.

With reporting from El Economista