White House puts new limits on flights from top travel destination

The Trump administration has had a pretty profound impact on the travel business.

For example, Canadian tourism has dropped dramatically amid ongoing trade wars and talk of making Canada the 51st state. Several countries have also issued new travel advisory warnings about visiting the U.S., particularly for non-binary individuals with “X” or other non-traditional identifiers on passports.

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Multiple U.S. airlines had also reported that demand was down overall during the first quarter of the year, given the economic uncertainty caused by tariffs, although demand seems to be stabilizing now.

Now, however, the White House has imposed new restrictions on flights from one of the most popular tourist destinations for U.S. travelers. Those restrictions have gone into effect immediately, and they could have a big impact on Americans’ vacation plans.

Flights from Mexico will need approval before landing at U.S. airports.

Image source: Guay/AFP via Getty Images

This top foreign destination is now subject to new rules

On Saturday, July 19, 2025, President Donald Trump took action to impose new restrictions on air travel from Mexico.

This move was made because of years-old restrictions put in place by the Mexican government related to cargo flights traveling into Mexico City.

Because of those restrictions, the Trump administration will now require all passenger, cargo, and charter planes from Mexico to submit schedules to the Department of Transportation.

The DOT is going to need to approve these flights before they will be permitted to land at U.S. airports, and this policy will continue until Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy believes that U.S. airlines are being treated fairly by Mexico.

Duffy took action because the Transportation Secretary was unhappy with the Mexican government’s efforts to force airplanes to land at Felipe Angeles International Airport instead of the main Benito Juarez International Airport. While Felipe Angeles International Airport is newer, it is also more than 30 miles away from the other airport where U.S. planes were landing.

Duffy believes that the Mexican government's move was a violation of a trade agreement and provided an unfair advantage to domestic airlines operating in Mexico.

“Joe Biden and [former Transportation Secretary] Pete Buttigieg deliberately allowed Mexico to break our bilateral aviation agreement,” Duffy said on July 19. “That ends today. Let these actions serve as a warning to any country who thinks it can take advantage of the U.S., our carriers, and our market. America First means fighting for the fundamental principle of fairness.”

Mexico is a top tourist destination for people in the United States

These new requirements place an onerous burden on airplanes from Mexico coming into the U.S., and this could have profound consequences.

Currently, an estimated 40 million passengers from the United States travel to Mexico, making it the top foreign destination for travelers from the United States.

Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico, which currently have a longstanding partnership, could see that partnership end as a result of the new restrictions. The airlines have estimated that over 140,000 American tourists, along with an estimated 90,000 tourists from Mexico, may opt not to travel to the other country, which could lead to a substantial loss of tourism revenue for both countries.

Both Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico have been fighting against the DoT’s efforts to end their partnership since early last year, arguing that the airlines should not be punished for actions taken by the government and pointing out how customers would be harmed.

“The U.S. Department of Transportation’s tentative proposal to terminate its approval of the strategic and pro-competitive partnership between Delta and Aeromexico would cause significant harm to consumers traveling between the U.S. and Mexico, as well as U.S. jobs, communities, and transborder competition,” Delta said in a statement.

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For now, travelers to and from Mexico will have to face the consequences of the Trump administration’s choice.