WHY IT RATES: The idyllic Mexican-Caribbean state of Yucatán is working diligently to restore its degree of air connectivity with the United States in time for the 2020 end-of-year holiday season. - Laurie Baratti, TravelPulse Associate Writer
United Airlines will resume its Houston (HOU)-Mérida (MID) route as of December 1, with four weekly flights and a possible increase to daily flights on December 17 for the holiday season. This means about 166 available seats, with a possible 2,490 by the end of 2020. Currently, the route is confirmed until the first quarter of 2021, subject to changes that may arise derived from the COVID-19 contingency.
The new route was announced November 5 by the State of Yucatán's Minister of Tourism, Michelle Fridman Hirsch, at a press conference where she was joined by Óscar Carrillo Maldonado, administrator of Mérida's Manuel Crescencio Rejón International Airport.
This is the second route connecting the U.S. with the Mexican destination. American Airlines reactivated its Miami-Mérida route on October 8, increasing frequencies to daily flights as of November 4.
The State of Yucatán started the gradual recovery of its air frequencies beginning June 11 as part of the economic reactivation of the state, implemented by Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal. Among national routes with increased frequencies are flights by various carriers between Mérida and Mexico City, Guadalajara, Veracruz, Tijuana, Tuxtla, Monterrey and Cancún.
The state's Ministry of Tourism has been working on the reactivation of flights to Mérida's international airport, reporting a considerable increase in the number of frequencies each month since June. This has resulted in nine national and two international routes, representing 18,089 seats available on 121 flights, which is equivalent to 54.1-percent recovery of the weekly seat offer to the state of Yucatán, compared to the data recorded up to February of this year, prior to COVID-19.
From March 24 to October 27 of this year, arriving flights at Mérida's international airport registered an average occupancy of 45.9 percent, which means a recovery of 33.4 percentage points in this indicator, registered during the last seven months of the year.
"The resumption of the Merida-Houston flight, starting on December 1st, with 166 seats per flight is extraordinary news. With this, Yucatán recovers 50 percent of its international air connectivity. These flights connect the state of Yucatan to the United States and the world through Miami and Houston, as these cities are major hubs," said Michelle Fridman, Minister of Tourism for the state of Yucatán. "We will continue working from our side and with support of the private initiative to achieve a recovery as quickly as possible, but, above all, as safe as possible."
For his part, Óscar Carrillo, Merida´s International Airport Administrator, stated, "The recovery of passengers that the airport has reported during these months has been sustained. From 300 a day in past August to more than 4,000 passengers per day, as of today, this gives us a vision of what we can expect for the winter season. This would not be possible without the joint effort of the Ministry of Tourism of the State of Yucatán and the private initiative. We want to give passengers the confidence that we are complying with all sanitary measures so that their visit to our state is safe and pleasant."
After the press conference, Fridman Hirsch, together with authorities from Mexican airport operator Grupo ASUR and representatives of air carrier Volaris, welcomed a Volaris flight from Oaxaca with 60 passengers on board. Volaris also operates flights from Mérida to Mexico City, Tijuana, Guadalajara and Monterrey.
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