by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:58 AM ET, Thu July 29, 2021
Airlines from the United States serving Mexico are expected to experience record-breaking traffic numbers this summer.
According to Mexico News Daily, the rising COVID-19 vaccination rates resulted in U.S. carriers transporting more than 2.2 million passengers to Mexico in June, a 24 percent increase from June 2019.
The 2.2 million total passengers served was also the busiest month ever, a record previously set in March 2018. The data also suggests 81.7 percent of international arrivals to Mexico between January and May were from the U.S.
Universidad Iberoamericana academic Roberto Montalvo suggests the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) decision to downgrade Mexico's air safety rating earlier this year has given U.S. carriers an advantage, including American and United Airlines.
"The demand was always going to start coming back for business and pleasure, and even for health reasons, such as through the famous vaccine tourism," Montalvo told Mexico News Daily. "The ones who can meet the demand are the American lines, because they are able to do it."
Montalvo also stated that low-budget carriers are seeing a quicker recovery both domestically and internationally, while long-haul airlines and routes are showing difficulty fully recovering due to potential service, schedule and even luggage issues.
Last week, the U.S. government extended the closure of land borders with Canada and Mexico to non-essential travel through August 21.
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