Flights to Mexico

Overview

Mexico is the most-visited foreign country for Americans who fly, and it's one of the easiest to reach. Big US airlines (American, Delta, United, Southwest, Alaska, JetBlue, Frontier and Sun Country) fly to Mexico's beach airports from dozens of cities, and Mexican carriers Aeroméxico, Volaris and Viva add many more routes, especially from cities with large Mexican-American communities. Most flights from the southern half of the US are shorter than a flight from New York to Los Angeles.

This page covers the routes, the airports, the arrival process, and what to do when things go wrong. For paperwork, read passports, permits and entry first. If you're thinking about flying out of Tijuana to save money, see Cross Border Xpress.

Nonstops from the US, airport by airport

Route maps change every season, and many beach routes run only in winter (roughly December through April) or on Saturdays only. Use the lists below to see who flies where, then check the airline's own schedule for your dates. These are current for the 2026–27 winter schedule.

Cancún (CUN)

Mexico's busiest airport for international travelers, handling about 29 million passengers in 2025. It's the gateway to Cancún, Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Isla Mujeres and Cozumel.

The busiest US routes to Cancún in 2025 were Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, New York JFK, Los Angeles and Denver. Mexican airlines add more, mostly connecting through Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey.

Los Cabos (SJD)

The airport for Cabo San Lucas, San José del Cabo and the corridor between them, and the West's go-to beach airport. Most US flights use Terminal 2.

Puerto Vallarta (PVR)

The gateway to Puerto Vallarta, Riviera Nayarit, Sayulita and Punta Mita. A large new terminal is under construction.

• Alaska: Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle; seasonal Portland.
• American: Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Phoenix; seasonal Chicago O'Hare.
• Delta: Atlanta, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Seattle; seasonal Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul.
• United: Denver, Houston, Newark, San Francisco; seasonal Chicago O'Hare, Los Angeles.
• Southwest: Denver, Houston Hobby, Las Vegas, Orange County, Phoenix, St. Louis, San Diego; seasonal Austin, Sacramento.
• Others: Sun Country (Minneapolis/St. Paul), Frontier (Atlanta; seasonal Denver).

Mexico City (MEX)

The country's hub, with the widest choice of US cities thanks to Aeroméxico, Mexico's flag carrier.

• Aeroméxico (Terminal 2): about 20 US cities, including Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, Newark, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Raleigh/Durham, San Antonio, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa and Washington Dulles.
• American (Terminal 1): Charlotte, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, Phoenix.
• Delta (Terminal 2): Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York JFK, Salt Lake City; seasonal Los Angeles.
• United (Terminal 1): Chicago O'Hare, Houston, Newark, San Francisco, Washington Dulles; seasonal Denver.
• Volaris and Viva (Terminal 1): low-cost flights to Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Antonio and others, plus Miami, Oakland, Orlando, Sacramento and Denver on Volaris and New York JFK on Viva.

Guadalajara (GDL)

Mexico's second city, the base for Tequila and Lake Chapala, and Volaris's largest hub, with about 25 US cities.

• Volaris: including Chicago (Midway and O'Hare), Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Ontario, Oakland, Phoenix, Portland, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Jose and Seattle. New routes to Washington Dulles start December 1, 2026 and Atlanta on December 2, 2026.
• Aeroméxico: Los Angeles and Salt Lake City year-round, plus seasonal flights to cities including Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Miami and San Francisco. A New York JFK route begins December 17, 2026.
• Viva: Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles.
• US airlines: American (Dallas/Fort Worth, Phoenix), United (Houston), Delta (Atlanta), Alaska (Los Angeles).

Tulum (TQO)

Tulum's Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport opened in December 2023, about 12 miles (20 km) southwest of town, and handled about 1.2 million passengers in 2025. US nonstops: American from Dallas/Fort Worth and Miami, Delta from Atlanta, and United from Houston plus a seasonal Newark flight. The rest of its traffic is domestic, Canadian or seasonal. Fares are often higher than to Cancún, but you save the roughly 2-hour drive south. A Tren Maya station sits next to the airport. See Tulum.

Other airports with US flights

Many smaller Mexican airports have a handful of nonstops from Texas, Arizona, California, Atlanta or Chicago, often seasonal, and connections through Houston, Dallas, Mexico City or Guadalajara reach the rest. Useful ones include Mérida (MID) for the Yucatán, Cozumel (CZM) for the islands, León/Guanajuato (BJX) and Querétaro (QRO) for San Miguel de Allende, Oaxaca (OAX) for Oaxaca, Huatulco (HUX) and Puerto Escondido (PXM) for the Oaxaca coast, Mazatlán (MZT), Zihuatanejo (ZIH) and Manzanillo (ZLO) on the Pacific coast, La Paz (LAP) and Loreto (LTO) in Baja California Sur, and Monterrey (MTY). Check the advisory for your destination state on our safety page; some of these airports are in Level 3 or Level 4 states.

Flight times

Approximate nonstop times heading south. Northbound flights are usually a little longer when they fight the jet stream.

Mexico City's two airports: MEX and AIFA

Mexico City has two airports, and for Americans the choice is simple: international flights from the US land at MEX, the Benito Juárez International Airport, in the east of the city, anywhere from 20 minutes to more than an hour from Roma, Condesa or Polanco depending on traffic. It handled about 44.6 million passengers in 2025.

MEX has two terminals that are far apart. Terminal 1 serves American, United, Volaris, Viva and most foreign airlines. Terminal 2 serves Aeroméxico and Delta. Connecting between them takes time; allow at least three hours for an international-to-domestic connection on separate tickets. The airport has been under a large renovation since 2025, timed for the 2026 World Cup, so expect some construction and changes to gates and walkways.

The second airport, AIFA (Felipe Ángeles International Airport, code NLU), opened in 2022 on a former air force base north of the city. The government moved all-cargo flights there from MEX in 2023 and capped flights at MEX, and some domestic routes by Aeroméxico, Volaris, Viva and the state-owned airline Mexicana now use it. There are currently no scheduled passenger flights between AIFA and the US; the US routes Mexican airlines flew from there in 2025 have ended. If you book a domestic connection, check which Mexico City airport it uses, because a connection between MEX and AIFA means a long ride across the metro area.

Since April 2026, a new commuter rail line, the Tren Felipe Ángeles, has linked AIFA with Buenavista station in central Mexico City. By road, AIFA is often 1 to 2 hours from the central neighborhoods. See Mexico City for getting into town from MEX.

Arriving at Cancún

Cancún's airport is efficient, but the arrivals process is where many first-time visitors get rattled. Here's the sequence.

1. Immigration. Lines can be long when several flights land at once, especially Saturdays in winter. Have your passport out and your hotel address and return flight on your phone. The officer stamps your passport and writes your days; check the number. See entry rules.
2. Bags and customs. Collect your luggage and put it through the X-ray. Most people are waved through.
3. The "shark tank." Past customs you walk through a hall of people in polo shirts at desks and kiosks calling out "Taxi?" "Transportation?" "Where's your hotel?" Many are timeshare and tour sellers. Some will tell you your transfer company is "waiting for you here" or offer to "call your driver." Don't stop, don't show your booking, don't give your hotel name. Say "No, gracias" and keep walking out the doors.
4. Outside. Pre-booked transfer companies wait outside the terminal with signs, usually in a designated area under a canopy. If you can't find yours, use the company's WhatsApp number from your confirmation.

Getting to your hotel

• Pre-booked transfer. The standard choice. Shared shuttles are cheapest, private cars and vans give you door-to-door service at set prices quoted in US dollars. One operator's October 2026 rate for a private van to Tulum, about 2 hours south, was US$165 one way. Book with a company that has a long track record and clear reviews.
• Airport taxis. Sold at official counters inside each terminal, with fares set by zone. They're legitimate, but usually cost more than a pre-booked private transfer.
• ADO bus. Mexico's main bus line runs air-conditioned buses from Terminals 2, 3 and 4 to downtown Cancún's bus station, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, roughly every hour or two for Tulum. Tickets cost a small fraction of a taxi. Buy at the ADO counter or on ado.com.mx. You'll need a taxi from the bus station to most hotels.
• Tren Maya. The new train has a station near the airport, reached by a short shuttle from the terminals. The Cancún–Playa del Carmen run resumed in August 2026 with only a few departures a day. Check trenmaya.gob.mx for current schedules; getting around covers the train in detail.
• Rental car. Rental desks and shuttles are outside the terminals. Read driving first: the mandatory Mexican insurance often doubles the price you saw online.
• Uber. App drivers can drop you off at the airport, which makes Uber a cheap way back for your flight home, but pickups in arrivals remain contested between the apps, taxi groups and federal authorities. Don't plan on one when you land. Current transfer and taxi prices are on our Cancún page.

Arriving at Los Cabos

The Los Cabos airport sits just north of San José del Cabo. San José is about 15 to 20 minutes away, the hotels along the Tourist Corridor 25 to 40 minutes, and Cabo San Lucas about 40 to 50 minutes, roughly 30 miles (48 km), on the four-lane highway. Todos Santos is about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes.

Los Cabos has its own shark tank, and it's famously aggressive: after customs, you pass a gauntlet of timeshare sellers, some at desks that look like official information or transportation booths. The approach is the same as Cancún. Keep walking, don't share your hotel name, and go outside, where pre-booked transfer companies, shuttle vans and official taxis wait.

• Pre-booked shuttle or private transfer. Usually the best value, especially to Cabo San Lucas. Prices are quoted in US dollars.
• Airport taxis and vans. Sold at counters, at fixed zone prices that are high for the distance.
• Rental cars. Easy to drive here, and useful for Todos Santos or East Cape trips. Budget for Mexican insurance.
• Ride-hail apps. Uber can drop you at the airport for your flight home, usually for much less than a taxi, but don't count on an app pickup at arrivals; the concessioned airport transport services control pickups. Shuttle and taxi prices by zone are on our Los Cabos page.

When to book and what you'll pay

Fares to Mexico follow the US vacation calendar more than the Mexican one. The most expensive weeks are Christmas through New Year's, Presidents' Day weekend, spring break (March), Easter week, and US summer school holidays. The cheapest are usually late August through early November (hurricane season on both coasts, see when to go) and the weeks right after New Year's and Easter.

• Book holiday trips early. For Christmas or spring break in Cancún or Cabo, fares climb steadily from late summer.
• Book ordinary trips 1 to 3 months out. That's the sweet spot for most off-peak routes. Set fare alerts on a flight search site for your dates.
• Compare nearby airports. Houston Hobby vs Intercontinental, Chicago Midway vs O'Hare, or Tulum vs Cancún can change the price a lot.
• Check Mexican airlines directly. Volaris and Viva often have the lowest fares from Western and Texas cities, but their basic fares include little: expect to pay for a carry-on, a checked bag and seat selection, and weigh your bags. The two agreed in December 2025 to combine under one holding company while keeping separate brands, so watch for schedule and fare changes as that deal moves forward.
• Price the whole trip. In Cancún and Los Cabos, all-inclusive packages that bundle flights and hotel can beat booking separately, especially for families. See where to stay and our budget tool.

Your rights when flights go wrong

Two sets of rules can apply: US rules from the Department of Transportation (DOT) for flights to and from the US, and Mexican rules for flights operated from Mexico, enforced by PROFECO, Mexico's consumer protection agency.

US rules (DOT)

• Refunds: since October 2024, airlines flying to or from the US, including Mexican airlines, must give automatic cash refunds when they cancel a flight or make a significant change you don't accept. For international flights, a significant change includes a departure or arrival time moved by 6 hours or more, a change of airport, or added connections. Refunds go back to your card within 7 business days.
• Bag fees: you're entitled to a refund of the checked bag fee if your bag arrives very late. For international flights of 12 hours or less, which covers every flight between the US and Mexico, the threshold is 15 hours after you land.
• Delays: US law does not require compensation for delays. Some US airlines promise meals or hotels for controllable delays; DOT lists each airline's commitments on its customer service dashboard.

Mexican rules (PROFECO)

Mexico's Civil Aviation Law is more generous than US law on delays. For flights departing Mexico, it requires airlines to compensate passengers for delays the airline causes, in steps: food and drink or discounts on future flights for delays over an hour, additional compensation for longer delays, and for delays over four hours the same remedies as a cancellation. For cancellations and overbooking that are the airline's fault, you can choose a refund or rebooking, plus compensation of at least 25% of the ticket price. Weather and air traffic control problems are excluded.

Ask the airline at the airport, in writing if possible, and keep receipts. If the airline won't help, file a complaint with PROFECO, which has staff at major airports during peak seasons, or with DOT if your flight was to or from the US.

Bags and connection tips

• Coming home, you clear US customs at your first US airport. Even if your bag is checked through to your final city, you collect it after passport control, carry it through customs, drop it at a recheck belt and go through TSA security again. Allow at least 2 hours for a connection, and more at busy hubs like Houston, Dallas, Atlanta or Miami. Global Entry or Mobile Passport Control saves a lot of time here; see entry rules.
• Going south, connecting within Mexico, you clear Mexican immigration and customs at your first Mexican airport, usually Mexico City, Guadalajara or Monterrey, then recheck your bags for the domestic flight.
• Book one ticket where you can. If your flights are on one booking and the first is late, the airline must rebook you. On separate tickets, a missed connection is your problem.
• Carry-on essentials. Prescription medicine, a swimsuit and a change of clothes. Delayed bags on beach routes usually arrive on the next day's flight, which means a day in the clothes you flew in.
• Mexican low-cost carriers weigh bags. Volaris and Viva enforce size and weight limits at the gate, and paying at the airport costs more than paying online.
• Lithium batteries and power banks go in your carry-on, as in the US.