With an investment of over 3 billion pesos (US 172,426,500), Tulum Airport, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, has been ready to receive its first passengers since Friday, December 1.
24 Horas Quintana Roo was given a tour of the airport’s facilities, runways and hangar, confirming that almost everything has been prepared before the inauguration.
Captain Luis Fernando Hernández, member of the Felipe Ángeles engineering group responsible for the construction of the airport, said:
“For these works, 1,500 hectares have been acquired in the municipality of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, of which 1,200 are occupied for the existing infrastructure and another 300 for an interconnection of 12.5 kilometers, from national road 307 to the first access road to the airport. ” he said.
He explained that this site has two access points. The first features a Mayan house, while the second shows a welcome sign placed right at the main entrance to the airport. At the rear of the site is the passenger terminal, the largest building within this structure.
“The airport has an area of more than 70,000 square meters of buildings and more than 1,400 meters of commercial buildings. This terminal will be able to handle 5.5 million passengers per year in the first construction phase. After that, capacity will be increased,” he added.
He also highlighted that at the main entrance there is a sculpture of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, a historical figure in southeastern Mexico who fought for the rights of the Mayan people. He pointed out that the construction required a master plan prepared by the Army Corps of Engineers and approved by the Federal Civil Aviation Agency.
In addition to these major works, there is the construction of the Mayan train, so that this airport complex connects to the Tulum Airport Mayan Train Station via the existing roads over 7.5 kilometers..
He recalled that the construction of this airport started on June 13, 2023, creating more than 17,000 jobs.
He emphasized that there have been several test flights by different airlines since last week until today.
“There have been several test flights. It is important to mention that before an airport becomes operational, various operational tests are carried out; this airport was no exception,” he added.