Cozumel
International Airport

Yes. Cozumel has its own international airport with a 10,165 foot main runway, an 8,858 foot second runway, ICAO Category 7 fire cover and customs on site. Flying direct to the island avoids the Playa del Carmen ferry entirely.

05/23 is 3,098 metres, about 10,165 feet, and 12/30 is 2,700 metres, about 8,858 feet, at 21 feet elevation. Fire cover is Category 7. The main runway takes the whole of business aviation.

Mexico requires foreign operators to hold a permit from AFAC. Charter operators use a Blanket Permit with the operator’s AOC validated by AFAC, which we plan at ten business days; since 1 January 2024 private operations file six-month single-entry authorisations. General aviation is restricted to the public-use airports AFAC lists, and every airport on this page is one of them.

Cozumel for the island. Cancún for the mainland coast. Flying to Cancún and taking the ferry from Playa del Carmen adds an hour’s drive and a 45 minute crossing; a direct arrival into Cozumel clears customs three kilometres from town.

No, handling is not mandatory at Cozumel, but it is arranged on every private flight for customs coordination through the FBO on the field. Jet A-1 is available. There is no standing slot or PPR, though seasonal or event traffic programmes can apply, so the desk checks the NOTAMs, files the AFAC permit and books the handling.

About three kilometres north of San Miguel de Cozumel, ten minutes, and the resorts along the western shore are within 20 to 30 minutes. That is the whole case for flying direct: routing via Cancún and the Playa del Carmen ferry adds an hour’s drive and a 45 minute crossing. Tell the desk the resort with the dates.

Eastern Standard Time, UTC-5, all year. Quintana Roo left Central Time in 2015 and does not observe daylight saving, so the offset from UTC is fixed and there is no clock change to catch a schedule out. The desk plans the schedule in UTC and confirms the local arrival time with the FBO when it books the handling.

November to April for the dry season, with diving year round. Hurricane season is June to November, so the two overlap in November and the desk plans an early-season trip with the weather in view. There is no standing slot or PPR, but seasonal or event traffic programmes can apply, so we check the NOTAMs and book handling.

Yes. Cozumel is an international airport with customs and immigration and receives direct flights from the United States. A private aircraft clears on arrival, three kilometres from town, which avoids the Playa del Carmen ferry. A foreign operator needs the AFAC permit, which we plan at ten business days for charter, and the desk files it with the handling.

The airport began as a United States Navy airfield built during the Second World War for anti-submarine patrols over the Caribbean, and passed to civil use afterwards. It grew with the island’s diving and cruise economy into an international airport, with the terminal expanded in the 2000s.

Yes, one of the busiest in the Caribbean, which is why the island’s infrastructure is more developed than its size would suggest. That does not affect the airport, which sits away from the cruise piers.

Yes. Cozumel International Airport has a 10,165 foot runway, no standing slot or PPR, handling not mandatory. Our desk files the permission and handling before the aircraft departs.

There is no standing slot or PPR requirement at Cozumel International Airport. Seasonal or event traffic programmes can apply on busy dates, so the desk checks the NOTAMs and books handling before the aircraft is positioned.