Cancun Airport Adds More Immigration Officers To Keep Up With Demand

Last Updated 3 years ago

The Commissioner of the National Institute of Migration (INM), Francisco Garduño Yáñez has promised to add more immigration officers at the Cancun International Airport after photos and videos of long line ups when viral on twitter.

The INM has stated that number of immigration agents employed at the Cancun airport will be expanded to over 100 officers in order to expedite the arrival for foreign tourists into the country.

Long Lines and Delays Arriving In Cancun

Depending on what time passengers flights arrived, they could either be met with a 5 minute wait and no line at immigration or a 2 hour wait with hundreds of people in line and very little social distancing. The INM is now working to ensure that passengers will be greeted with shorter wait times to get through immigration regardless of arrival time.

What May Have Sparked The Increase In Immigration Officers

On February 12th Twitter user Oliver Renick shared a photo that went viral of long lines up of masked travelers at the Cancun International Airport. While some internet critics doubted the authenticity of the photo Renick did upload a secondary follow up video.

The Cancun International Airport also recorded a very busy day on the same day the photos were posts. It total there were 195 arrivals including 60 domestic and 135 international flights. Additionally 192 planes departed of which 58 were domestic and 134 were international.

This is the airport in Cancun right now. Good luck with your bonds at 1% pic.twitter.com/yD0eoZfoCD
— Oliver Renick (@OJRenick) February 12, 2021

Ok, for those who don't believe what they see on the internet… More from the #CancunAirport via //cubeinart// on Instagram. Safe travels everyone! pic.twitter.com/6wGgkffxwT
— Oliver Renick (@OJRenick) February 13, 2021

INM Promises Faster Processing Of Immigration Line Ups in Cancun

Francisco Garduño Yáñez stated that processing times in Cancun will get better and said that they are working to keep up with an increased demand at the Cancun airport. From new technology systems to border agents being on time and even working 24 hour shifts, the National Migration Commissioner promised the Mexico Secretary of Tourism that wait times will improve.

Travelers arrive at the international airport in Cancun wearing masks

Using Technology To Speed Up The Immigration Process

The meeting highlighted the importance of technology being used for immigration services which will drastically speed up arrivals. The tourism industry has requested the new check-in machines for years but until now have gone unheard.

In the next 15 days two technology companies will present new systems for digital check-ins at the Cancun Airport. Once a proposal is approved the new computer will drastically speed up arrivals as seen in other major airports around the world.

Another Busy Weekend Reported in Cancun

The Cancun airport saw another 353 flights on Friday alone including 111 international flight arrivals. Flights arrived from Atlanta, Baltimore, Bogotá, Boston, Caracas, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Philadelphia, Frankfurt, Houston, Indianapolis, Lansing, Lima, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Orlando, Panama, Phoenix, Salt Lake, San Diego, San Francisco, San José, San Luis, Santiago de Chile, Seattle, Tampa and Washington.

While Cancun hotel occupancy may only be at 43%, the resort city continues to defy pandemic odds bringing tourists in mass numbers especially from the U.S. Even the new testing requirement for U.S. travelers returning home hasn’t slowed down Americans love for Cancun and the Mexican Caribbean.

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This article originally appeared on TravelOffPath.com