The Mexico Guides

Flights to Mexico: Airports, Airlines, and Booking Tips

· 2 min read Practical
Mexico airport arrivals and flight information board

Contents

  1. Main international airports
  2. Airlines
  3. When to book
  4. Connecting to smaller cities

Mexico has several international airports — where you fly into depends on your itinerary. Mexico City and Cancún handle the most international traffic; Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Los Cabos are also well-served from North America.

Main international airports

Mexico City (AICM, NAICM, MEX/NLU)

Mexico City has two active airports:

  • AICM (Aeropuerto Internacional Benito Juárez, MEX): the old airport, in the city’s eastern district. Connected to the metro (Terminal 2 → Terminal Área 1 station on Line 5). Serves most international arrivals.
  • NAICM / AIFA (Felipe Ángeles, NLU): the new airport opened in 2022, 60 km north of the city. Currently serves mainly domestic routes and some regional international flights. Less convenient — allow 90 minutes to reach the centre.

Cancún (CUN): the main entry point for the Yucatán Peninsula and Caribbean coast. Best connected city for resort holidays; buses to Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Mérida, and Chichén Itzá depart from the airport ADO terminal.

Guadalajara (GDL): gateway to western Mexico, Jalisco, and the Tequila region. Good North American connections.

Los Cabos (SJD): serves the Baja California resort area; heavily connected from California and the US southwest.

Monterrey (MTY): gateway to northern Mexico; many US connections.

Oaxaca (OAX): domestic flights mainly; some seasonal and regional international connections.

Airlines

From the US and Canada: United, American, Delta, Alaska, Southwest, Air Canada, WestJet all serve multiple Mexican airports. Low-cost: VivaAerobus and Volaris have expanded significantly with US routes from Texas, California, and Florida.

From the UK and Europe: British Airways (direct London–CDMX), Iberia (Madrid–CDMX, Cancún), Air France (Paris–CDMX), Lufthansa (Frankfurt–CDMX). KLM and other European carriers typically require a connection.

From Mexico within Latin America: Aeromexico is the main carrier; Copa Airlines (Panama) and LATAM are useful for connections from South America.

When to book

Best prices: book 6–10 weeks in advance for most routes. Christmas, Easter, and US spring break (March) are the most expensive periods — book those 3–4 months ahead.

Cheapest months: May, June, and September–October are typically cheapest for international arrivals (Mexican summer is rainy season in the south, which suppresses demand slightly).

Flexible dates: use Google Flights’ price calendar view to identify the cheapest days within a week — sometimes shifting departure by 1–2 days saves USD 100+.

Connecting to smaller cities

Mexico’s domestic network is excellent and cheap. Aeromexico, VivaAerobus, and Volaris connect CDMX to Oaxaca, San Cristóbal (via Tuxtla), Mérida, and dozens of smaller destinations for MXN 600–2,000 if booked in advance.

Buses from CDMX are slower but very comfortable for 6–8 hour journeys: ADO (first class) is the most reliable network.