Departure
96%
vs 95% ▲ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Cancun International Airport (MMUN) sits on the Caribbean coast of Quintana Roo, a few kilometres southwest of the Cancun hotel zone, and is Mexico's second-busiest airport and the principal gateway to the Riviera Maya. For the simulator pilot it offers two long parallel hard-surfaced runways with ILS approaches and a mix of dense international airline traffic, making it a good major-airport study for VFR or IFR arrivals into a busy Caribbean hub.
Cancun International Airport, opened in the 1970s and operated by Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (ASUR), is one of the busiest airports in Latin America and the second busiest in Mexico by passenger numbers. It lies on the Caribbean coast of the state of Quintana Roo and serves as the main air gateway to Cancun, the Riviera Maya and nearby destinations such as Tulum, Playa del Carmen and Chichen Itza. For a simulator pilot the field is notable for its two long parallel runways, heavy international traffic mix, and its role as a hub connecting North America and Europe with the Caribbean.
The airport lies on the Caribbean coast of Quintana Roo, within around ten kilometres southwest of Cancun's hotel and resort zone. It is Mexico's most easterly major airport. The field is served by approach and departure control frequencies, indicating it sits within controlled terminal airspace typical of a large international hub, with clearance delivery, ground and dual tower frequencies reflecting the volume of scheduled airline movements.
Cancun has two parallel physical runways. The longer, 12R/30L, is 11,476 ft, hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS available on the 12R approach. The shorter, 12L/30R, is 9,168 ft, also hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS on the 12L approach. Field elevation is 16 ft.
Cancun provides a full suite of radio services befitting a major hub: Approach and Arrival on 120.4 MHz, ATIS on 127.7 MHz, Clearance Delivery listed separately from Departure, Departure on 119.8 MHz, Ground on 121.7 MHz, and two tower frequencies covering the parallel runways, Tower North on 118.1 MHz and Tower South on 118.6 MHz. A further frequency, 122.1 MHz, is listed as CLD. Both main runway approaches (12R and 12L) are equipped with ILS.
The airport was inaugurated on 19 March 1975 and has since grown into one of the most important airports in Mexico and Latin America, developed alongside Cancun's transformation from a sparsely inhabited coastal area into a major tourist destination. It has expanded from a single terminal into a complex of four passenger terminals, with Terminal 1 now used mainly for charter flights and later terminals built to handle the airport's growing international traffic. On 27 November 2013 it became the first airport in Mexico to receive an Airbus A380, during celebrations marking Air France's 80th anniversary and ASUR's 15th. The airport has historically served as a connecting hub for Mexican carriers including Aerocancun, Aladia, Mexicana de Aviacion and MexicanaLink.
Cancun International Airport today operates around the clock across its four passenger terminals plus a dedicated FBO terminal, handling well over 29 million passengers a year and ranking as Mexico's second-busiest airport. It is a hub for Viva and a base for Volaris, and hosts a wide range of domestic and international carriers connecting Mexico to the Caribbean, the Americas and Europe. The airport is operated by ASUR, which also runs several other airports across southeastern Mexico.
