In February 2021, the first stage of the remodeling works will be completed.
“With the remodeling and expansion work, the Mérida International Airport (AIM) will be able to receive up to 4.5 million passengers a year, more than double of its current capacity”, informed Óscar Carrillo Maldonado, administrator of the air terminal.
“In the end, we are going to have an airport capable of serving 4 and a half million passengers a year,” he said.
In February 2021, as detailed, the works of the first stage of remodeling would be finished, which consists of the facade, which was expanded to double the space inside the rows of documentation, that have been reduced, due to the number of passengers that the place receives.
In addition, the internal roads of the airport were modified, for the second month of the following year, the new offices for the airlines and the remodeling of the checked baggage screening system will also be ready.
As for the second stage, which consists of the modification of the boarding rooms, connecting corridors of the baggage claim rooms, of authorities, among other adjustments, would be completed by 2022.
Upon completion of all these works, he specified that the Mérida airport would increase its capacity, and will be able to receive up to 4.5 million passengers per year. To get an idea, in 2019 the Merida airport received about 2 million 800 thousand travelers.
Recovery
After the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has generated on national and international tourism, Carrillo Maldonado pointed out that the airport has recovered in an important and sustained way during these months until the cut of October they have exceeded one million passengers; the end of the year is expected to help increase that number.
In addition, he indicated that they currently have an occupancy of 75 percent in all airlines. However, compared to last year this figure is 50 percent lower.
Although it is uncertain, since it is an atypical year, he estimated that in December there would be a 15 percent increase in the influx of travelers, especially now that the new routes to Havana, Villahermosa, and Oakland have been announced.
Currently, he announced that people are traveling to Mexico City, where there are more connections with the rest of the country and other parts of the world, also to Monterrey, Guadalajara, Tijuana, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, and Cancun. They register more than 80 flights a day, 95 percent domestic.
