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Border closures, flight reductions see hundreds canceled into Cancun International

Cancun, Q.R. — The closure of borders by South America, Europe and Canada combined with airline suspensions and flight reductions has affected hundreds of flights into the Cancun International Airport.

While a majority of airlines are focused on suspending flights into the first week of April, some intend to continue with those suspension well into June. The three main Latin American airlines, Aeroméxico, Interjet and Latam, have announced flight reductions of up to 90 percent in their frequencies in coming weeks, affecting passengers nationwide.

Aeroméxico says they have already reduced flight frequencies by 50 percent (depending on the route) and will continue to do so until April 30, noting most of their reduced flights include those departing for Madrid, Barcelona, Paris, London and Amsterdam.

Interjet has decided to adjust its seating capacity on its flights by up to 40 percent. William Shaw of Interjet said the most important thing is to safeguard its passengers, crew and employees. Shaw points out that this is a responsible measure against the current situation facing the airline industry and the tourism sector due to the coronavirus.

The airline that has taken the most drastic measure is Latam, which has reduced its international routes by 90 percent and its domestic routes by 40 percent. Roberto Alvo, Commercial Vice-President of LATAM, stressed that this is the biggest crisis in history for the tourism and civil aviation sectors, adding that government support has been requested.

“We make this complex determination due to the impossibility of flying to a large part of our destinations due to the closure of borders. If the unprecedented travel restrictions are extended over the next few days, we do not rule out being forced to further reduce our operations,” said Alvo.

Spanish airline Evelop has also announced that it will provisionally suspend its routes to the Caribbean, offering their last flight March 23, when it will depart Cancun and fly Spanish tourists who are still in the Mexican Caribbean, home.