Los Cabos Tourist Alert: Depart For Airport Early Due To Traffic Congestion

Share The Article

LOS CABOS, Mexico – The relaxed rhythm of a Los Cabos vacation is jarringly shifting for many visitors as they head home. Instead of a calm departure, tourists are facing significant traffic congestion, leading to rising anxiety and, for some, the distressing experience of missing their flights. The source of this travel headache is the ongoing construction of a new overpass at the busy Fonatur roundabout.

This essential infrastructure project, which began about a week ago, has unfortunately created substantial delays, particularly on the highway bypass leading to the airport. For travelers, this means unexpected hours spent in slow-moving or standstill traffic, watching the precious minutes tick away before a scheduled flight.

The frustration is palpable. Reports confirm that the traffic jams have directly caused tourists to miss their flights, turning final vacation memories into stressful scrambles. Adding to the irritation, tolls at the bypass booths have reportedly continued to be collected even during periods of severe gridlock, a point of contention for drivers who see it as worsening the already slow progress.

Mauricio Salicrup, president of the Los Cabos chapter of the National Tourism Business Council (CNET), voiced concerns about how the construction was rolled out. “We had held several meetings where different ways were suggested to facilitate transportation for all the people who need to travel between Cabo San Lucas and San José del Cabo,” Salicrup noted. “Unfortunately, the construction work began without these alternatives being clearly defined and announced to the general public.” This lack of clear, advance communication on alternative routes has amplified the current difficulties.

There’s a growing worry among tourism leaders that these prolonged traffic snarls could negatively impact Los Cabos’s image as a welcoming and easily accessible destination. A vacation that ends in a frantic, delay-filled journey to the airport is an experience no one wants, and it’s certainly not the lasting impression the local tourism industry hopes to leave.

In response, some local businesses and hotels are reportedly considering initiatives like staggered work hours for employees to help reduce traffic during peak times. Meanwhile, local government officials are actively discussing the situation, including the process for formally requesting a temporary suspension of toll collections from federal authorities to ease congestion. However, such a decision isn’t immediate, offering little short-term relief.

For now, the most crucial advice for anyone flying out of Los Cabos International Airport is straightforward: allow a significant amount of extra travel time. Arriving at the airport much earlier than usual is far preferable to the stress and potential disappointment of being caught in traffic with a flight departure looming.

The National Tourism Business Council continues to press for immediate action from the Federal Highways and Bridges Authority (Capufe) to improve traffic management near the construction and prevent further travel disruptions. For a destination so reliant on tourism, ensuring visitors can depart without major incident is vital. Travelers are urged to check local traffic updates and plan their airport trips with these serious delays in mind.