Aviation and tourism officials in Los Cabos are negotiating with Viva Aerobús to launch a true nonstop flight between San José del Cabo and Cancún, a route that currently requires a stopover in Toluca. The discussions were confirmed at the 2026 Advisory Commission meeting for Los Cabos International Airport (SJD).
Francisco Villaseñor, director of airport operator GAP (Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico), and Rodrigo Esponda, managing director of Fiturca (the Los Cabos Tourism Trust), said talks with the low-cost carrier are ongoing. Their goal is to convert the existing one-stop service into a nonstop connection at least once a week as a baseline trial.
Strong Demand on Existing Route
The current Viva Aerobús flight between Los Cabos and Cancún stops at Toluca International Airport, just outside Mexico City. Passengers stay on the aircraft during the layover, but the added landing and takeoff cycle stretches the trip to roughly six to seven hours. A nonstop flight would cover the 1,450-mile distance in about 4.5 hours.
Officials cited strong demand as the core argument for eliminating the stop. The existing route runs at over 80% occupancy, and about half of all passengers on the flight continue all the way to Los Cabos rather than deplaning in Toluca. Those numbers, drawn from Fiturca’s internal data, show concrete demand rather than speculation.
Filling a Gap in a Large Network
Los Cabos International Airport already connects to 28 U.S. destinations, 13 domestic Mexican cities, and nine Canadian routes. Yet no airline currently offers a nonstop flight to Cancún, Mexico’s largest international gateway on the Caribbean coast. Skyscanner and Travelocity both confirmed as of mid-2026 that zero nonstop options exist between SJD and CUN.
The Cancún link matters because Cancún’s airport handles hundreds of weekly flights from European, South American, and North American hubs. A nonstop connection would let travelers arriving in Cancún from London, Madrid, or Frankfurt add Los Cabos as a second stop without routing through Mexico City or the United States.
European Market Is the Prize
Esponda and Villaseñor framed the proposed route as a tool to capture European visitors who currently bypass the Pacific coast. Rather than negotiate individual transatlantic routes, Los Cabos could position itself as an easy add-on to a Cancún itinerary. Officials described the nonstop as a near-term expansion, not a distant goal.
The story was first reported by the Gringo Gazette.