American Airlines has ended its nonstop service between Phoenix and Tijuana, closing a short-lived international route that once carried significant expectations for cross-border family, business and leisure travel.
The airline discontinued service effective August 3, 2026, after determining that the route had not met its performance expectations. Industry schedule data indicate the final flight operated on August 2, ending service just over two years after the route launched on February 15, 2024.
The Phoenix–Tijuana route was unusually short for an international operation. The cities are separated by roughly 290 miles, and scheduled flying time was a little over one hour. American operated the route with SkyWest CRJ-700 regional jets, with frequencies reaching up to five flights per week before cancellation.
When the service began, Phoenix officials promoted it as a new link between communities with strong family and commercial ties. American was also the only U.S. carrier serving Tijuana directly, making Phoenix the border city’s only scheduled nonstop destination in the United States.
But the economics did not hold. American told AirlineGeeks that Tijuana had “not met performance expectations,” part of the carrier’s regular process of reallocating aircraft toward routes expected to deliver stronger returns.
Tijuana presents an unusual competitive challenge because its airport sits just south of the U.S. border and connects directly to San Diego through the Cross Border Xpress pedestrian terminal. Many travelers bound for Southern California can therefore cross the border on foot rather than book a short international flight into the United States.
The Tijuana exit is not the only contraction from American’s Phoenix hub. The airline is also scheduled to end its nonstop service from Phoenix to Monterrey on December 1, 2026, after that route reportedly averaged passenger loads of around 60% during much of the year — below levels airlines generally seek for sustainable performance.
Despite the cuts, Mexico remains one of American’s largest international markets. The carrier continues to advertise an extensive Mexican network and says it operates more flights between the United States and Mexico, the Caribbean and Latin America than any other U.S. airline.
For travelers, the change means there is currently no scheduled nonstop airline service between Phoenix and Tijuana. Connecting itineraries remain available, but the experiment with a direct cross-border link ended after traffic failed to justify keeping the route.
