Puerto Vallarta’s February air traffic fell after a late-month disruption canceled 141 flights in two days. Official airport data show the decline was not evenly spread. International routes posted the larger monthly drop, while domestic demand remained firmer over the first two months of the year. Operations recovered quickly, but the interruption still cut into one of the destination’s busiest travel periods. The next traffic report will show whether the decline was limited to February or extended into March.
February traffic turns lower
Puerto Vallarta International Airport handled 615,400 passengers in February 2026, down from 649,900 a year earlier. That was a 5.3% year-over-year decline in total traffic during one of the destination’s busiest periods. Over the first two months of the year, the airport handled 1,347,100 passengers, compared with 1,363,300 in the same period of 2025. That put the year-to-date total 1.0% lower. The decline also stood out within the wider airport group. Across GAP’s 12 Mexican airports, passenger traffic fell 3.2% in February. Tijuana posted the largest drop among the group’s main terminals, at 7.4%. Puerto Vallarta followed at 5.3%, while Guadalajara fell 1.6%. Los Cabos moved in the opposite direction, rising 0.8%. The figures show a change in the winter travel pattern that the city usually sees. They also show how a short disruption near the end of a month can change the result. That is especially true in high season, when the airport relies on strong demand from domestic and foreign travelers.
International routes fell more than domestic traffic
The February decline was not spread evenly between the airport’s two main markets. Domestic traffic reached 186,500 passengers in February, down 3.2% from 192,600 a year earlier. Even so, domestic demand remained firmer over the first two months of the year. From January through February, domestic arrivals totaled 429,000 passengers, up 1.6% from 422,100 in the same period of 2025. International traffic weakened more clearly. Puerto Vallarta handled 428,900 international passengers in February, down from 457,300 a year earlier. That was a 6.2% monthly decline, which was steeper than the drop in domestic traffic. For the first two months of the year, international arrivals totaled 918,100 passengers, down 2.5% from 941,200 in 2025. Airline supply also softened. The number of seats offered in February fell 3.4% from a year earlier. At the same time, the load factor slipped to 79.4% from 81.2%. Together, those figures suggest airlines flew fewer seats and filled a smaller share of them. The international segment appears to have carried more of the pressure.
Two days of cancellations shaped the month
GAP linked the disruption directly to the events reported in several parts of Jalisco on February 22 and 23. Puerto Vallarta recorded 89 flight cancellations on February 22 and 52 more on February 23. That left a total of 141 canceled flights in two days. Guadalajara saw 120 cancellations on the first day and 103 on the second. Manzanillo recorded two on each day. For Puerto Vallarta, that concentration of canceled service helps explain the monthly decline. The airport’s recovery was also fast. GAP said Puerto Vallarta was back to 95% of scheduled operations on February 24. By February 25, the airport had returned to 100% of scheduled flights. No programmed cancellations were reported that day. That quick normalization matters for residents, expats, and travelers planning spring trips. Still, the February data show the interruption was large enough to leave a measurable mark on air arrivals. The effect was more visible in international traffic. The March traffic report should show whether the setback ended with those two days or reached later bookings.
