Airlines went all-out flying to the new airport in Tulum (TQO) in Mexico this past winter, adding dozens of nonstop flights from all over the country. As temperatures drop in late 2024, Delta will give winter-weary Minnesotans a nonstop route, too.
Over the weekend, the airline quietly added nonstop flights from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP) to Tulum for next winter. It will run from Dec. 21 through April 12, 2025 – just once a week, on Saturdays.
That new route gives Midwesterners a way to bypass the chaos of the Cancún (CUN) airport en route to destinations further south in the Riviera Maya. Located a 30-minute drive from the heart of Tulum's burgeoning hotel scene, the Tulum airport opened to U.S. flights just this past March.
Flights from Minneapolis went on sale over the weekend, with fares as low as in the $400s … or into the $600s roundtrip. The Saturday-only service will be on a Boeing 737-800 featuring first class, Delta Comfort Plus, and main cabin economy seats.
But the real value came when you use Delta SkyMiles. We found these fares and sent them to our Thrifty Traveler Premium members first thing Sunday morning.
Delta was the first U.S. airline to announce nonstop service to Tulum when the Mexican government opened up the brand-new airport to international service earlier this year. Yet as other airlines added several routes from multiple hubs down to Tulum, Delta stood pat with service only from its Atlanta (ATL) hub. Until now.
Delta has been on a tear at its core Minneapolis hub lately, adding new routes and restoring fun flights it cut years ago.
Just last month, the airline announced it would add winter getaways from Minneapolis to both St. Maarten (SXM) and Aruba (AUA). Delta is bringing back nonstops to Turks & Caicos (PLS) next winter, too. And it's also resuming nonstops to Mazatlán (MZT) among its many other routes to the Caribbean and Latin America.
Nonstops to Tulum will be a welcome addition to Midwestern travelers who have been forced to make a nearly two-hour trek from Cancún.
Tulum's airport opened to domestic flights in December 2023, and then for international carriers like Delta in late March. We were just at the new airport to check it all out and found it to be a beautiful, functional airport in the jungles of Mexico.
Read our full overview of what to expect at the Tulum airport!
In addition to the usual domestic Mexican airlines, several U.S. airlines now fly nonstop to Tulum (TQO) as of July 2024.
- Delta was the first to put Tulum on the map, with daily nonstop service from its Atlanta (ATL) hub
- American Airlines is already going even further, flying to Tulum twice a day from its hubs in Charlotte (CLT) and Miami (MIA) – and twice a day from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)
- United Airlines operates nonstop service from Chicago-O'Hare (ORD), Denver (DEN), Houston-Intercontinental (IAH), and Newark (EWR), adding summer flights to and from Los Angeles (LAX) in late May
- JetBlue added nonstops to Tulum from New York City (JFK) this summer
- For Canadians, Air Canada offers flights from Toronto (YYZ), Montreal (YUL), Ottawa (YOW), and Quebec City (YQB).
- Discover Airlines – an offshoot of German flag carrier, Lufthansa – plans to start seasonal nonstop service to Tulum from Frankfurt (FRA) in December
- Copa Airlines is serving its Panama City (PTY) hub.
- Tulum is also served domestically by Aeromexico and low-cost-carrier Viva Aerobus from a handful of Mexican cities.
There's another option to get around the Yucatan Peninsula as well: The Maya Tren, a massive rail network line linking tourist hotspots around the region like Cancún, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum as well as popular archeological sites like Chichén Itzá and many other, lesser-known cities and towns throughout southern Mexico.
That train line was expected to be fully operational last month, linking the Cancún airport with Tulum and its own airport as well as destinations even further south. But as of publication, the Maya Tren doesn't run to Tulum: Its last stop is in Playa del Carmen – a good hour-plus to the north.
Bottom Line
Delta Air Lines is adding another nonstop route to the new Tulum (TQO) airport for next winter, this time from Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP).
Nonstop flights from Minnesota straight to Tulum begin in December and run through mid-April. While it'll only run once a week on Saturdays, it's a welcome way for Midwesterners to leave Cancún behind and head further south into the Riviera Maya.
