The Guadalajara International Airport moved 9.2 million passengers between January and June 2026, the highest figure in the terminal's history. The FIFA World Cup, which held six matches in the city, drove a surge in activity: in June alone, traffic grew 6% compared to the same month in 2025, with 1.56 million travelers.
According to figures from Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), reported by El CEO, the 9.2 million passengers in the first half exceed the same period of 2025 by 206,000 travelers. The boost was particularly noticeable in June, when the city hosted matches involving Mexico, South Korea, Spain, and Colombia.
According to El Informador, while Guadalajara grew 6% in June, other airports in the same group declined: Puerto Vallarta by 18.7%, Los Cabos by 9.7%, and Tijuana by 4.6%. The connectivity of the Jalisco capital, a city home to one of the largest migrant communities bound for the United States, was reinforced at a pivotal moment for the trinational relationship.
The busiest day was June 26, with the visit of King Felipe VI of Spain for the Spain-Uruguay match: 639 operations in a single day, the highest daily figure in the airport's history. On June 18, the date of the Mexico vs. South Korea match, 613 operations were recorded. In total, June accumulated 13,930 flights, more than a thousand additional operations compared to the 12,902 logged in June 2025.
GAP has invested 15,900 million pesos in the terminal between 2020 and 2024, and projects an additional 22,000 million between 2025 and 2029 for a new terminal building, access roads, and expansions. The airport's director, Cryshtian Amador Lizardi, acknowledged the joint effort of airlines, authorities, and service providers in absorbing the peak in demand.
The infrastructure legacy of the World Cup (a new terminal, more routes, greater operational capacity) represents a permanent asset for Guadalajara and its connection to the Mexican diaspora in North America. The 9.2 million passengers in the first half are the first concrete measurement of that new scale.
This article was written with artificial intelligence assistance from verified sources and reviewed by a human editor before publication.