Cancún International Airport handled 11.1 percent fewer international passengers in May 2026 than a year earlier, another sign of pressure on Mexico’s major beach-destination airports, including Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos.
The May passenger report from ASUR, released June 8, shows Cancún received 1,305,796 international passengers from May 1 to 31, down from 1,468,569 in May 2025.
Domestic traffic at Cancún also fell, though by a smaller margin. The airport handled 841,058 domestic passengers in May, down 3.0 percent from 867,155 a year earlier. Total passenger traffic fell 8.1 percent, to 2.15 million.
The May numbers continue a weaker start to the year for Mexico’s busiest resort airport. From January through May, Cancún’s total passenger traffic was down 3.4 percent from the same period in 2025. International traffic was down 2.3 percent, while domestic traffic was down 6.0 percent.
Across ASUR’s Mexican airports, international traffic fell 10.0 percent in May. Domestic traffic rose 1.3 percent, leaving total Mexico traffic down 4.2 percent.
The airport figures show passenger movements, not the full tourism economy. They do not measure hotel occupancy, visitor spending, airline fares, or the reasons travelers did or did not fly. The report also does not say how much of Cancún’s decline was due to weaker demand, fewer available seats, or route changes.
For Puerto Vallarta, the Cancún data matters because the local airport is showing a similar pattern, though with a sharper international drop in May.
In a separate May traffic report from GAP, Puerto Vallarta’s international passenger count fell 26.5 percent, to 173,500 from 236,100 in May 2025. Total traffic at Puerto Vallarta fell 14.4 percent.
Los Cabos also reported a weaker May. International passenger traffic there fell 10.5 percent, while total traffic was down 6.0 percent, according to the same GAP report.
The three airports are not identical markets. Cancún, Puerto Vallarta, and Los Cabos depend on different routes, airlines, hotel markets, and seasonal travel patterns. Still, the May reports show international air traffic weakened at several of Mexico’s top beach gateways at the same time.
Airline capacity is one number to keep watching. GAP said available seats across its airports fell 7.5 percent in May, while load factors rose from 81.1 percent to 84.1 percent. In plain terms, there were fewer seats available, but a higher share of them were filled.
ASUR’s May report did not include a comparable seat-capacity figure for Cancún.
For travelers, the May passenger decline does not point to an immediate airport problem or current flight disruption. For tourism businesses, property owners, and residents who follow the local economy, the next signals will come from June and July passenger reports, airline schedule changes, and whether summer travel offsets the spring slowdown.
