enger traffic at Tijuana International Airport has more than doubled since the opening of the Cross Border Xpress pedestrian bridge in Otay Mesa nearly a decade ago.
Given that pace, both the airport and the binational terminal announced major investments this past week to further expand their facilities over the next five years.
CBX expects to invest $100 million by 2029 as part of a plan that includes an expanded arrivals terminal, a ground transportation center and a hotel, CEO Jorge Goytortúa announced Wednesday during this year’s Tianguis Turístico — Mexico’s largest tourism convention being held in Baja California.
Goytortúa said that they are still in the process of developing a timeline for the projects, which are in the design and permit stage.
“We have experienced double-digit growth every year since CBX opened,” said Carlos Salgado, director of the Tijuana International Airport.
The Tijuana airport went from handling 4.8 million engers in 2015 to 12.5 million in 2024, and the growth appears to be continuing this year. The CBX, which allows ticketed engers to cross the border between Otay Mesa and the Tijuana airport via an enclosed pedestrian bridge, began operating in December 2015.
CBX projects 4.7 million engers by the end of 2025. It is estimated that more than 38% of California residents who visit Mexico cross the border at CBX, according to Goytortúa.
Mexico, the United States and Canada will host the FIFA World Cup next year. Los Angeles is expected to host several games, including the U.S. men’s national team’s opening match. Los Angeles will also host the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Goytortúa said that events of this magnitude, which promise a large number of visitors to California and Mexico, “is something that encourages us.”
“By identifying the traffic we are going to have, it certainly pushes us to speed up certain investments,” he said.
The hotel project is still in the early stages, and studies are being conducted. Goytortúa said it would be built within the terminal’s property.
South of the border, Tijuana airport officials also unveiled one of their largest investments to date.
Over the next five years, the Tijuana airport will spend nearly $500 million to increase its facility by 47%, along with new boarding gates, a new enger screening area and an extension of the pedestrian bridge.
Construction is expected to start early next year, Salgado, the Tijuana airport director, said.
The “historic investment” is over two times that of the last expansion project, which included a new processing building for CBX engers.
The Tijuana International Airport is one of twelve Mexican airports managed by the Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico. It now offers 38 destinations, of which 35 are domestic and three are international — one to Phoenix and two to Beijing and Shenzhen, China.
