Jamaica-Mexico direct flights starting next March on Aeromexico

The airline Aeromexico will launch the first scheduled nonstop service between Mexico City and Montego Bay starting next March, opening a direct link between two countries whose travel flows now run in opposite directions.

Pending government approvals, Mexico City will become the fifth major Latin American city with nonstop service to Sangster International Airport (SIA) after Lima, Bogotá, Medellín, and Panama City.

Jamaican travel to Mexico falls

The route arrives as Jamaican travel to Mexico has more than halved, falling from a peak of roughly 16,190 air arrivals in 2022 to 7,090 in 2025, according to Mexico’s Unidad de Política Migratoria. The decline continued into 2026: only 2,466 Jamaicans entered Mexico between January and May, down 12.5 per cent year on year.

Traffic in the other direction has grown. Stopover arrivals from Mexico rose 9.7 per cent year on year to 3,194 in the first five months of 2026, and stood 55 per cent above the same period of 2024, according to the Jamaica Tourist Board.

The Mexican government has not explained the drop from Jamaica’s end. However, the decline coincides with tighter US border enforcement under President Donald Trump, whose return to the White House in January 2025 intensified pressure on Mexico to stop migrants from using its territory as a transit corridor to the United States. Mexico has responded with its own crackdowns. Jamaicans, who can stay in Mexico visa-free for up to 180 days, have faced heightened scrutiny, with reports of Mexican immigration officers turning travellers away at airports or detaining them on suspicion that they intended to cross into the US.

“Mexico City gives Montego Bay a direct connection into Mexico’s capital, and through Aeromexico’s hub, to destinations across the country,” said Shane Munroe, chief executive of MBJ Airports Limited, which operates SIA. He said the route would strengthen Montego Bay’s connectivity with key Latin American markets and diversify SIA’s network.

Giancarlo Mulinelli, Aeromexico’s senior vice-president of global sales, said the addition of Jamaica reflects the carrier’s push to offer customers more leisure destinations in the Caribbean.

Aeromexico will fly the route three times weekly- on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays- using 166-seat Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

The schedule allows same-day connections to more than 40 destinations on Aeromexico’s domestic network. The airline has already put tickets on sale.

The service extends SIA’s growing Latin American network. LATAM Airlines Peru resumed nonstop Lima–Montego Bay flights in December 2024, linking Jamaica with Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Copa Airlines serves Montego Bay year-round from Panama City, and Wingo flies nonstop from Bogotá and Medellín.

The Jamaica Tourist Board expects the region to deliver more visitors. Jamaica recorded its strongest-ever performance from Latin American markets last year, with arrivals from the region up by more than 62,000 passengers, and the agency projects 100,000 arrivals in 2026 and 175,000 in 2027, which it says translates to more than US$500 million in earnings.

Flights are scheduled to leave Mexico City at 9:20 a.m. and reach Montego Bay at 2:00 p.m. The return departs at 3:15 p.m. and lands in Mexico City at 6:20 p.m.

business@gleanerjm.com