We would like to talk about the sequence of actions when transferring at airports in Mexico. In general, this information applies to transfers at most airports in the world, except for international transit. When transiting internationally through Mexico, in most cases you will need to process entry and exit procedures, purchase and recheck checked baggage.
Domestic flight to domestic flight
In particular, Cancun - Mexico City - Tijuana.
If you are flying on a single ticket (all flight segments in one booking), there is no need to purchase and recheck luggage, even if you are flying on different airlines. When checking in at your departure airport, make sure your luggage is checked in to your final destination and you have received boarding passes for both flights. All Mexican airlines offer online check-in and boarding passes. This eliminates the need to check in at an airline counter if you're flying with hand luggage only. Then, when needed, show your boarding pass from your phone screen.
At your transfer airport, disembark from the aircraft, go through departure security again, and proceed to the boarding gate for your next flight. In some cases, you will have to change the airport terminal.
Sometimes, when checking in for the first flight, the airline may inform you that boarding for the next flight needs to be prepared at the transfer airport. In this case, when transferring, find the airline counter, get a boarding pass and then go to boarding.
If you have two separate tickets, at the first airport you check in for the first flight and check your luggage. At the connecting airport, you collect your luggage, go to the next airline's counter and check your luggage again. However, if both flights are operated by the same airline, you have the opportunity at the first airport to ask it to check your luggage to your final destination. She is not obliged to do this, but she has the opportunity.
Mexico has three time zones. Please note that departure times are always local. Moreover, boarding usually ends 20-30 minutes before departure. So if you find yourself at the gate right before your scheduled departure time, you'll likely miss your flight.
Domestic flight to international flight
Let's say Cancun - Mexico City - Buenos Aires.
At Mexican airports there is no usual passport control for international flights, as in other countries. Immigration control is carried out by the airline, which checks the passenger’s compliance with the migration regime, and after departure, transmits information about his departure to the migration service. If the migration regime was violated — the passenger has exceeded the permitted period of stay, the airline sends the passenger to the migration service office at the airport to pay the so-called fine and purchase permission to fly out of the country.
Typically, the airline carries out immigration control at the transfer airport, in other words, before departure from Mexico. However, the airline will indicate to you a violation of the migration regime, if there was one, even when boarding the first domestic flight. In this case, you will have to visit the migration service office or counter at the transfer airport, which will take time. Find out where the office is located from the airline.
The second option, especially valuable for residents of Mexico — get a boarding pass for an international flight and register your departure with the migration service at the first airport. The Migration Service puts a departure stamp in the passport (ordinary guest countries do not put a stamp on departure from the state), and also a stamp on the boarding ticket indicating that departure is approved.
Boarding for both flights — domestic and international — the airline will issue it to you at the airport of departure. As a rule, it is impossible to check in online and get boarding for an international flight without visiting an airline counter. Once you arrive at your connecting airport, proceed to the international departure area, go through security and proceed to the gate to board your international flight.
Your luggage will most likely be checked in until your final destination; you do not need to reload it yourself at the transfer airport. However, if for any reason you do not board an international flight, your baggage will not be loaded onto it.
It happens that airlines check baggage separately for domestic flights and separately for international flights. In this case, you need to purchase your luggage at the transfer airport and then re-check it in at the airline check-in counter.
If you are flying on separate tickets, at the departure airport you check in and check in luggage only for the domestic flight, and at the transfer airport — check-in and baggage for an international flight.
International flight to domestic flight
Let's say Havana - Cancun - Guadalajara.
When you arrive from abroad, immigration control is always at the first airport you enter the country (not to be confused with the technical stopover in Mexico City on Turkish Airlines flights from Istanbul to Cancun). You must have a passport with a visa, if required, and other proof required to enter Mexico. How entry into Mexico is processed is described in other publications on our website.
Once you have cleared immigration, you must claim your luggage, even if the airline has checked your luggage to your final destination, and go through customs. Most transit airports in Mexico have a drop-off point or belt for transit baggage. It is located directly behind the customs control point. Place your luggage there and the tags on it will sort it for your next domestic flight. If there is no transit baggage belt at the airport, you need to go to the general departure area, find the airline counter there and check your luggage for the next flight. You will have to do the same if you are flying on separate tickets.
Most often, airlines issue a boarding pass for a domestic flight during check-in for an international flight. A less common option is that you will have to visit the airline counter at the transfer airport under any circumstances to check in for boarding for a domestic flight and check in your luggage.
Finally, proceed to the departure area through the aviation security filter and find your domestic flight gate there.
International flight to international flight
In particular, Los Angeles - Mexico City - San Salvador.
There are no traditional transit areas at airports in Mexico. More often than not, upon arrival in Mexico, you will have to go through immigration, pick up your luggage, go through customs, place your checked luggage on the transit baggage belt, and go through security to re-enter the lounges for your next international flight. This is almost the same as when connecting from an international flight to a domestic one, but in addition you must comply with the migration criteria in order to leave the country. As we said, there is no passport control upon departure. But they will put a stamp on your entry into Mexico in your passport.
Typically, only American airlines sell single tickets with transit through Mexico, since US citizens or US visa holders do not need a visa to enter Mexico, and they do not need to go through immigration procedures at Mexican airports — simple formality. Airlines issue boarding passes for both segments of international flights via Mexico at the departure airport.