United and Delta announce direct flights to new Tulum Airport

United Airlines Holdings and Delta Air Lines are among the first airlines to announce direct flights to Mexico’s soon—to-open airport in the tourism hotspot Tulum, one of the government’s top projects to bolster economic activity in the region.

United will launch 22 weekly flights from Newark, New Jersey’s Liberty International Airport close to New York City, New York, Houston and Chicago to Tulum at the end of March, and add service from Los Angeles, according to a United statement Friday. Delta will offer a nonstop service from Atlanta to Tulum beginning March 28, the company said Thursday. 

The construction of the Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport, due to be completed by year-end, is expected to boost the local economy, part of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s goal to reduce poverty in the south of the country through greater tourism and industrialization. The tourism hotspot has seen a boom in wealthy visitors and Instagram influencers in the past several years. Yet current visitors to the beach town need to fly to Cancun and then drive two hours south to reach it.

Tulum is on the path of another government project — the Maya Train, which is meant to connect five southeastern states. United said that flights will be available for sale beginning Nov. 18, while Delta began offering tickets for purchase last month.