San Juan, Puerto Rico Passenger Traffic Declined in July, With Domestic and International Totals Both Lower

Passenger traffic at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport declined in July, with lower domestic and international totals pulling down the monthly figure at Puerto Rico’s busiest airport.

The San Juan, Puerto Rico airport handled 1,310,943 passengers in July, according to newly released data from airport operator Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, known as ASUR.

The July total represented a 5.1 percent decline from the 1,381,674 passengers recorded during the same month last year.

The decline makes San Juan an outlier in the Caribbean right now, with passenger traffic at many of the region’s leading airports continuing to grow as airlines add capacity and travel demand remains strong.

Traffic also remained lower across the first 7 months of the year. Luis Muñoz Marín handled 8,295,938 passengers from January through July, down 3.2 percent from 8,570,856 passengers during the comparable period last year.

The monthly figures continued a softer run for San Juan in 2026, following year-over-year declines during several earlier months.

Domestic Traffic Accounted for Most of the July Drop

Domestic passenger traffic, which includes flights between Puerto Rico and destinations in the United States, continued to provide the vast majority of the airport’s volume.

Luis Muñoz Marín recorded 1,116,082 domestic passengers in July, down 5.1 percent from 1,176,500 in July of last year.

The difference amounted to 60,418 fewer domestic passengers during the month.

Through July, domestic traffic reached 7,267,065 passengers, a 3.5 percent decline from 7,527,648 during the same 7-month period last year.

Domestic passengers represented roughly 85 percent of the airport’s July traffic, giving changes in mainland demand an outsized effect on San Juan’s overall results.

Puerto Rico’s air network remains closely connected to major United States gateways, including New York, Newark, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Baltimore and Washington, DC. Airlines also operate extensive service from San Juan to cities across Florida and the Northeast, markets responsible for a large portion of Puerto Rico’s visitor and resident travel.

A reduction of several percentage points across those routes can translate into a sizable decline in the airport’s monthly passenger count.

International Passenger Volume Also Declined

International traffic fell at nearly the same rate as the domestic segment in July.

The airport handled 194,861 international passengers, down 5 percent from the 205,174 passengers reported a year earlier.

The result marked a difference of 10,313 passengers.

International traffic remained closer to last year’s level across the full January-to-July period. San Juan processed 1,028,873 international passengers during the first 7 months of 2026, down 1.4 percent from 1,043,208 during the same period last year.

The smaller year-to-date decline indicates international service has held up better than the airport’s domestic business across 2026, even after July’s decrease.

International passengers accounted for nearly 15 percent of San Juan’s July total. The segment includes flights connecting Puerto Rico with destinations across the Caribbean, Latin America, Canada and Europe.

Luis Muñoz Marín has regular international service linking San Juan with airports in destinations including the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Panama, Spain and neighboring Caribbean islands. Those routes broaden Puerto Rico’s visitor base beyond the United States mainland and give San Juan an important role as a regional aviation gateway.

San Juan Has Handled Nearly 8.3 Million Passengers This Year

Despite the decline, passenger volume at Luis Muñoz Marín remained among the highest in the Caribbean.

Nearly 8.3 million passengers traveled through the airport during the first 7 months of the year, including more than 1 million international passengers.

The airport’s traffic regularly exceeds 1 million passengers per month, supported by Puerto Rico’s large visiting-friends-and-relatives market, cruise business, leisure demand and extensive links to the mainland United States.

July remained one of the airport’s busiest months of 2026 by total volume, even with the year-over-year decrease. Summer school vacations, family travel and seasonal trips between Puerto Rico and the mainland traditionally produce high passenger totals during the month.

The figures count arriving and departing passengers, meaning the totals cover both sides of the airport’s commercial operation.

Luis Muñoz Marín serves as the primary aviation hub for San Juan, the surrounding metropolitan area and many of Puerto Rico’s leading visitor destinations. Travelers use the airport for trips to Old San Juan, Condado, Isla Verde, Dorado, Río Grande, Fajardo and other parts of the island.

The airport also supports connections to smaller Caribbean destinations and municipalities across Puerto Rico through regional carriers.

The Domestic Decline Continues to Shape the 2026 Total

The year-to-date figures show a difference of 274,918 total passengers compared to the first 7 months of last year.

Domestic traffic accounted for 260,583 passengers of the difference. International volume was lower by 14,335 passengers.

Those numbers show how heavily the overall result depended on the domestic market. More than 9 of every 10 missing passengers in the year-to-date comparison came from the domestic category.

San Juan’s domestic designation differs from many Caribbean airports because travel between Puerto Rico and the mainland United States falls within the domestic count. A flight from San Juan to New York, Miami or Orlando appears in the domestic category, even though the trip crosses the Caribbean.

The classification gives Luis Muñoz Marín a passenger profile unlike most other leading airports in the region, where international traffic usually accounts for nearly all commercial volume.

Puerto Rico’s political relationship with the United States also allows United States citizens to travel to the island with no passport requirement, an advantage in the leisure market and a major contributor to the size of San Juan’s domestic network.

International Traffic Remains Near Last Year’s Level

The international year-to-date decline of 1.4 percent remained considerably narrower than the domestic decrease.

San Juan had recorded mixed international results earlier in the year, including months when overseas passenger volume increased even as total traffic declined.

The July report showed weakness across both categories during the same month, though the cumulative international result remained relatively close to 2025.

International growth has played a larger role in Puerto Rico’s aviation performance in recent years, helped by service to Latin America, Europe and additional Caribbean destinations.

Routes linking San Juan with cities beyond the United States mainland provide new options for leisure trips and business travel while supporting visitor arrivals from markets less dependent on United States domestic airline patterns.

Puerto Rico also serves as a natural connection point for passengers traveling among the mainland United States, the eastern Caribbean and Latin America.

What Comes Next for Puerto Rico’s Busiest Airport

The July figures leave Luis Muñoz Marín with 5 months remaining in the calendar year to narrow the difference with 2025.

Late-summer traffic, Thanksgiving travel, Christmas trips and Puerto Rico’s winter visitor season will all contribute to the final annual total.

The airport finished the first 7 months with an average of approximately 1.19 million passengers per month. Maintaining a similar monthly count through December would keep the full-year result above 14 million passengers, although seasonal demand and airline schedules will determine the final number.

ASUR reports passenger totals for San Juan as part of its monthly update covering airports in Puerto Rico, Mexico and Colombia. The company holds a controlling interest in Aerostar Airport Holdings, the private operator of Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.

July’s results showed a broad decline across San Juan’s passenger categories: total traffic fell 5.1 percent, domestic traffic fell 5.1 percent and international traffic fell 5 percent.

Across the first 7 months, the declines were more moderate. Total traffic was down 3.2 percent, domestic volume was down 3.5 percent and international traffic was down 1.4 percent.

Luis Muñoz Marín still processed more than 1.31 million passengers in July, reinforcing its position as Puerto Rico’s primary air gateway and one of the Caribbean’s busiest commercial airports.

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