Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Oct. 8, 2026 — Puerto Vallarta International Airport handled 307,100 passengers in September, down 10.4% from a year earlier, airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP) reported.
The airport recorded 35,500 fewer passengers than the 342,600 reported in September 2025. Through the first nine months of 2026, passenger traffic reached 4.54 million, down 12.3%.
In its October 6 traffic report, GAP attributed the monthly decrease primarily to reduced airline capacity. Hurricane Polo also disrupted airport operations during the final days of September.
Lower Passenger Numbers Affect Connections Across Banderas Bay
The decline carries implications for tourism businesses, airport transportation providers and residents who rely on air connections.
The Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport, located at kilometer 7.5 of Carretera a Tepic, serves Puerto Vallarta and Riviera Nayarit. Its passenger volume provides an indication of air travel activity supporting hotels, restaurants and tourism services throughout Banderas Bay.
However, airport passenger totals do not match tourist arrivals. GAP’s figures include domestic and international terminal passengers traveling in both directions, including residents leaving Puerto Vallarta.
For local travelers, the report also identifies specific routes experiencing lower passenger volumes.
GAP reported declines on domestic connections between Puerto Vallarta and Tijuana and between Puerto Vallarta and Monterrey. International routes linking Puerto Vallarta with San Francisco and Phoenix also recorded reductions.
These routes connect residents and visitors traveling between the region and major cities in Mexico and the United States.
International Travel Accounts for Most of the Annual Decline
Our review of GAP’s passenger tables shows that international traffic accounts for approximately 86% of Puerto Vallarta airport’s total passenger decline during the first nine months of 2026.
International passenger volume fell from 2.82 million during January through September 2025 to 2.27 million during the same period this year.
That represents 547,300 fewer international passengers, a decline of 19.4%.
Domestic passenger traffic fell less sharply. The airport handled 2.27 million domestic passengers through September, down 3.7%, or approximately 87,000 passengers, from last year.
Together, the two categories account for a reduction of 634,300 passengers compared with the first nine months of 2025.
The September figures show that both markets continued to contract.
International traffic fell 12% during the month, from 107,400 passengers in September 2025 to 94,500 in September 2026.
Domestic traffic decreased 9.6%, from 235,200 to 212,700 passengers.
The latest figures follow an even larger international decline in August, when Puerto Vallarta airport reported a 26.3% drop in international passenger traffic.
Reduced Airline Capacity and Hurricane Polo Contributed to September Decline
GAP said the passenger decrease was “mainly due to a decline in seat capacity offered by the airlines,” particularly in the domestic market.
Across the airport operator’s network, available airline seats declined 7.2% compared with September 2025.
At the same time, the average percentage of occupied seats increased from 80.7% to 81%.
These figures cover GAP’s broader airport operations, not Puerto Vallarta alone. They show that airlines offered fewer seats even as the share of occupied seats increased.
Weather conditions also affected September operations.
GAP identified Hurricane Polo as a contributing factor during the final days of the month. The storm affected portions of Mexico’s Pacific coast and Baja California Sur, disrupting operations at Puerto Vallarta and Los Cabos airports.
As VallartaDaily reported on September 26, the storm caused limited flight delays at Puerto Vallarta’s airport while heavy rain also affected roads in the city.
GAP did not attribute the entire monthly passenger decline to weather. Its report identified reduced airline capacity as the primary factor.
Puerto Vallarta Decline Exceeds GAP’s National Airport Average
Puerto Vallarta’s September performance was weaker than the combined results for GAP’s 12 Mexican airports.
Those airports recorded a 6.7% decline in passenger traffic, compared with Puerto Vallarta’s 10.4% decrease.
Other major airports also experienced reductions. Tijuana reported a 12.1% decline, while Los Cabos recorded a 7.5% decrease.
Guadalajara, Jalisco’s largest airport, reported a smaller 0.9% reduction.
The nine-month comparison also shows a difference between Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara.
Puerto Vallarta’s passenger volume declined 12.3% through September, while Guadalajara recorded 4.2% growth over the same period.
The difference reflects uneven passenger traffic across airports operated by the same company.
Puerto Vallarta’s latest figures come as airlines prepare for their winter schedules. GAP previously indicated that it expects passenger traffic to improve beginning in November as seasonal international service returns, according to earlier reporting on the airport’s winter flight expansion.
The September report covers traffic before those seasonal service increases and confirms that Puerto Vallarta entered the final quarter of 2026 with passenger volume below the previous year’s levels.
