Adding to the list of direct flights now available through the McAllen International Airport, city officials unveiled a new route to Guadalajara with extended service to Puerto Vallarta on Thursday, another sign of the city’s increasing confidence in a post-COVID-19 recovery.
Officials with the city and Aeromar, a Mexican airline, rejoiced in their expanded partnership through the launch of the new flights which will begin June 10.
“Today is a celebration of new international opportunities but more importantly, a celebration of international ties that are stronger than ever, ties that have resisted even the challenges during this pandemic,” said City Manager Roel “Roy” Rodriguez during a news conference. “Today, we move one step closer to normalcy as we begin making plans for summer travel. Indeed, it is a time to celebrate family, friends, and all of the adventures and strengths that keep us in this great bond.”
The flights from McAllen to Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, departing at 10 a.m. and scheduled to arrive by noon.
Returning flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays, departing Puerto Vallarta at 3 p.m. and expected to arrive in McAllen at 5:15 p.m. Introductory fares will be as low as $99 each way to Guadalajara and $109 each way to Puerto Vallarta.
The new route is the latest of three announced just this year. In March, Aeromar and city officials held a similar news conference announcing direct flights to Monterrey from the McAllen airport which began April 22, initially running on Thursdays and Sundays.
“I mentioned that we might, in time, do two to three flights a day to Monterrey but we weren’t there yet,” said Fabricio Cojuc, director of network strategy and alliances for Aeromar. “Well, you know what? We are there yet.”
The airline will begin running flights to Monterrey three times a day, he announced, raising their initial expectation of 20 flights in May to 87.
“So between Mexico City and McAllen, we will be doing close to 150 flights altogether in May and we expect to carry around 7,000 passengers,” Cojuc added. “I think the best months we’ve had on record was April and we were at around 3,200 passengers so we’re more than doubling that just in May.”
Steve Ahlenius, CEO and president of the McAllen Chamber of Commerce, praised the work of the city in getting the deal done while also noting the gamble that comes with expanding services.
“This stuff doesn’t happen overnight and this is really the evidence and effort of folks working together and the flywheel effect that success brings,” Ahlenius said. “This is fruit of that effort, it’s the mayor and city commissioners willing to take risks, it’s Aeromar willing to take risks, it’s willing to do those things to see if the market can handle this type of expansion.”
The number of passengers is encouraging for the city, already nearing pre-pandemic numbers.
This March, the McAllen airport reported 31,241 enplanements, a 52% increase from March 2020 when the first known COVID-19 cases in Texas were reported. During that month, there were only 20,507 enplanements, according to the airport’s 2020 activity report.
From there, the situation only got worse with enplanements plunging to 2,729 in April 2020, a 91% decrease from April 2019. After that month, the numbers started climbing but remained far below the more than 30,000 enplanements reported in January and February 2020, the months before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic.
March was the first this month this year to break 30,000 enplanements, though numbers for April are not yet available.
The increase in travel and travel options is just one sign of the growing confidence among the public and among government officials — led by the immunizations against COVID-19 — that the biggest challenges of the pandemic are in the past.
On Thursday, the city announced the reopening of the McAllen Convention Center facilities for entertainment events beginning this weekend with a home and garden expo and a concert.
Yahaira Flores, convention center facilities director, said they retain safety measures in place such as screening individuals upon entry and requiring them to wear masks.
But in an even bigger encouragement to the public, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday morning that fully vaccinated individuals no longer needed to wear masks outdoors in crowds and in most indoor settings except as required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.
In response to the CDC’s news, Hidalgo County Judge Richard F. Cortez said the commissioners court would have to vote on whether or not to continue requiring masks in county facilities.
“The CDC has been an invaluable resource for public safety throughout this pandemic and while I applaud this recommendation by the CDC, it will take a vote of the entire Hidalgo County Commissioners Court to change the current policy regarding facial coverings inside county buildings,” Cortez said in a statement.
As of Wednesday, about 37% of the total Hidalgo County population had been fully vaccinated and 48% had received at least one dose. Valleywide, about 38% of the entire population had been fully vaccinated and 49% had received at least one dose.
