In the first half of 2023, Mexico registered 58.15 million passengers, almost equally divided between domestic and international travelers, according to data from the country’s Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation Secretariat. Volaris led in terms of carried passengers, followed by Aeromexico and Viva Aerobus.

How many passengers did Mexico have domestically?

Mexico has led the aviation market in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2023, surpassing Brazil's carried passengers. Between January and June 2023, the country had 30.50 million domestic passengers, a 17% growth from 2022.

Volaris is the leading domestic company in the country. It had 12.16 million domestic passengers in the first semester, growing by 11% versus the previous year and showing signs of a growth normalization after a substantial growth period following Interjet’s cease of operations and Aeromexico’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy process.

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Viva Aerobus remained the second-largest domestic airline in the country, with 9.57 million passengers. That’s a 24% growth versus the previous years. Aeromexico closed in third place, carrying 8.44 million passengers in the period. Compared to 2022’s first semester, Aeromexico had a 26% growth, the largest among Mexico’s top three airlines.

The country also has four regional airlines, Calafia Airlines, Aerus, Magnicharters, and Transportes Aéreos Regionales. Between the four, they carried 294,647 passengers. Mexico lost Aeromar, a regional ATR-based company, in February. Before that, it had 31,931 passengers.

How about the international segment?

In the first half of the year, Mexico registered 27.64 million international travelers. That’s a 14.5% growth versus the previous year. The Mexican carriers had 7.06 million international travelers (+19%). International airlines reached 20.58 million passengers.

The leading operator in the Mexican international segment was American Airlines. This US carrier registered 3.85 million passengers. It is already looking to increase its footprint in Mexico by launching a new route to Tijuana next winter and adding more flights to key destinations such as Cancun. Aeromexico came in second, carrying 3.23 million passengers. Volaris registered 2.79 million and United Airlines 2.75 million.

How does Mexico compare to other countries in the region?

Mexico is only behind the United States in terms of carried passengers this year. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazil was a bigger market, but the South American country has been slow to recover.

Brazil registered 53.6 million international passengers in the first half of the year. It has recovered 94% of its pre-pandemic traffic levels. Other countries that have released their traffic results until June this year include:

1. Argentina - received 13.66 million passengers. Close to fully recovering from the pandemic.
2. Chile - received 11.90 million passengers—still 10.6% below pre-pandemic traffic levels.
3. Colombia - received 22.96 million passengers. The country suffered a worrying 11.6% decrease in domestic passengers.
4. Dominican Republic - received 8.90 million passengers.
5. United States - 319.8 million passengers until April 2023.

What do you think about Mexico’s first-half traffic results? Let us know in the comments below.