Airline officials, the Mexican government and tourists interested in traveling to Mexico are hopeful that the impact that the COVID-19 virus has had on them and on the world is nearing an end in the near future. As a result, flights to Mexican Caribbean hotspots Cancun and Cozumel are on the rise.
Frontier Airlines announced on Thursday that it will start offering four weekly flights from Orlando, Fla., to Cancun on that date. The low-fare carrier followed two days later with an immediate resumption of flights from Denver to Cozumel after a six-year hiatus.
Those routes will be later joined by Frontier flights from Miami to Cancun on March 7, which will be operated five times a week, and weekly flights from Cincinnati to Cancun that will start on March 13.
Meanwhile, another low-cost airline, Southwest Airlines, is planning to start offering daily flights from Houston to Cozumel on March 11, a move that was announced in 2020 and is still on track.
Europeans are not being left out as several airlines will be offering more service to the Mexican Caribbean in the coming months, particularly from Iberia.
Evelop, a charter airline, will start operating weekly flights from Madrid to Cancun on March 8, TAP Air Portugal, that country’s flag carrier, will begin running three flights a week from Lisbon to Cancun on March 27, and Orbest, another Portuguese airline, will commence weekly flights from Lisbon to Cancun in late March.
Also, fellow European airlines Air France, British Airways, Lufthansa and Edelweiss Air are continuing to operate flights from Europe to the Mexican state of Quintana Roo that is home to Cancun and Cozumel.
Those traveling anywhere in Quintana Roo should note that the state is at the orange light high risk level, meaning that places such as archaeological sites, golf courses, hotels and restaurants are only allowed to operate at half of their capacities while bars and clubs will remain closed for the time being.
However, with that said, Quintana Roo has remained open to tourism. No COVID-19 testing or quarantine restrictions are in place although Americans should consider that they do need to provide a negative test result in order to be allowed back into the United States.
To help with the testing requirements that Americans face in order to return home, many Mexican hotels are offering complimentary 14-day stays in the event that they receive a positive test result. Included in this list are several located in Cozumel and Cancun, including Cozumel Palace, Sunscape Sabor Cozumel, Now Emerald Cancun, Now Jade Riviera Cancun and The Grand at Moon Palace Cancun.
Also note that many of these same hotels provide free COVID-19 tests to their guests as well.