A tour of the Cancun Airport

Saturday (Nov.14,2009)

It was a very informative trip and we found out a lot about the airport that was new and interesting. The Cancun International airport is the second largest airport in all of Mexico. It is second only to Mexico City. Cancun services ten million passengers per year. There are 3 terminals at this airport. The oldest is terminal 1 which is now used for private flights. Terminals 2 & 3 are for charters and commercial flights. Terminal 3 is the newest and most modern and it was opened in May of 2007.

It is a source of pride for the Asur Company which runs it and many others within Mexico. They strive for it to be the most modern efficient and technologically advanced airport in Latin America. Asur operates 9 airports in the southeast of Mexico. These are located in Cancun, Cozumel, Huatulco, Merida, Minatitlan, Oaxaca, Tapachula, Vercruz, and Villahermosa.

Many thanks to the International Women’s Club of Cancun for arranging this tour.

Here are some pictures and description

Our group:

The new Cancun Control Tower. It’s floor is 96 meters high (315 ft.) and the roof is 110 meters (361 ft.). It is the tallest structure in the state of Q-Roo.

This is the familiar tower at terminal 3 that we all see flash by on takeoffs. It was nice visiting the airport with no where to go.

The floor tiles are grooved to assist the seeing impaired in finding rest rooms and customer service counters. They can feel the grooves through the special canes that they use to navigate.

Just after going through security

This high tech machine scans the people walking by and measures their temperatures. The scanner is that box hanging on the gray pole. The read out is the computer screen on the desk. Anyone with a high temp is stopped by a doctor and asked to fill out a form which is given to the airline they are booked on. Then the airline determines if the person will be allowed onto their flight.

Close up of the computer screen display from the scanner and video camera’s. Temperatures are in Centigrade (42.3°C=108.14°F) WOW! I would think you would be dead. This equipment might need to be calibrated?

Duty free shop entrance

Concourse and food court

The 2009 Christmas Tree in terminal 3

$$$$ The business lounge is a nice place to kick back and relax until your flight it ready to be boarded, all you need is membership in one of the many programs available for this nice amenity. $$$$$

Interior of the lounge

Our bus is waiting to take us over to the old Terminal 1 control tower.

Going past some of the aircraft on the apron, taxiways, and runway

This big bird just arrived

General aviation park

The wind blows 98% of the year from the Southwest, and on a few days from the North so crossing runways are not necessary in Cancun International Airport.

Our group

Inside the terminal 1 old control tower which is now used for control of safety, security and ground traffic liaison.

Out on the catwalk surrounding the control tower

Aircraft being repaired

Eduardo, our most excellent guide for the day

View from the tower catwalk. On the left is the main runway where flights both land and take off.

The airport was a most interesting place and it was fun to gain knowledge about how airports work, why they, and how they do things in certain ways.