JDiver

The formal name is Aeropuerto Internacional General Abelardo L. Rodríguez or Aeropuerto Internacional de Tijuana (I IATA: TIJ, OACI: MMTJ), in Tijuana, Baja California, México.

Address: AEROPUERTO DE TIJUANA, S.A. DE C.V.
Carretera Aeropuerto S/N
Col. Nueva Tijuana
Mesa de Otay, Tijuana, Baja California
C.P. 22435

Location is ~100 yards south of the US-Mexico border at Otay Mesa, California (~a mile west of the Otay Mesa land border crossing), ~30 km / 18 mi south south-east of San Diego and 9 km / 6 mi east of downtown Tijuana. TIJ hosts 10 million passengers yearly, about 360 flights daily. Flights to other Mexican cities and resort areas can be 50% or more less than from SAN-LAX.

Telephones: +52 (664) 607-82-00, 607-82-01

Website: https://www.aeropuertosgap.com.mx/es/?Itemid=514 (Spanish)

English: link (English version is useless)

Link to flights information (Spanish)

Link to Wikipedia page on TIJ

The airport is accessible by taxi, Uber, private automobile or bus from Tijuana, as well as via the border crossing at Otay Mesa, California. There is also a Cross Border Xpress, or CBX, the world's third cross-border passenger terminal (after Geneva and Basel-Mulhouse), including a terminal on the U.S. side of the border and a bridge to connect the Tijuana Airport , opened in December 2015.

Link to FT thread Pedestrian "Cross Border Xpress" /"CBX" Bridge links Otay Mesa, USA - TIJ Airport.

International service includes AM / Aeroméxico service beteeen TIJ and and PVG / Shanghai, HU / Hainan Airlines and PEK / Beijing Capital. There is no nonstop service to the US or Canada, though the main airkines serving TIJ have connecting flights through MEX, mostly.

Domestic service:

Airlines include Aeroméxico, Interjet, VivaAerobus, Volaris with service to / from a number of Mexico cities. For other international connections, MEX has service connections to the Americas, Asia, Europe, etc.

Regional airlines: Calafía (Baja California and Baja California Sur), TAR (Hermosillo).

Facilities:

Lounges:
Aeroméxico Salón Premier (Concourse A)
VIP Room Tijuana (Priority Pass lounge) (Main Terminal - Upper Level) link
Food court (Concourses A, B (airside), Main Corridor (landside))
Customs & Immigration (International Arrivals are handled at Concourse B, departures at Concourse A)
Parking
Duty Free shopping

Boofer

Can anyone comment on the PEK-TIJ and PVG-TIJ flights? I'm curious as to the demand from either China or Mexico. Do a lot of Chinese residents want to visit Tijuana? Or is this more driven by US and Mexico residents flying to China more cheaply than from SAN, MEX, etc?

JDiver

Good question. IMO it may be some of this - cheaper flights between China and Mexico - but I’m guessing high value cargo contributes. Iirc Sony and others have plants in Tijuana.

EmailKid

The only nonstop from China I found is on Hainan, as AM flies MEX-TIJ-PEK/PVG-MEX due to prevailing winds, i.e. TIJ is a technical stop to add fuel, while the tailwind allows the DreamLiners to fly to MEX nonstop.

And if your flights originate in China you are in luck, as they seem to price out quite a bit lower than those originating in Mexico.

Oh, you can also walk to the airport from the pedestrian crossing in San Ysidro, though I would not recommend it if you have luggage of any size other than carryon @:-)

JDiver

San Ysidro with baggage is a pain. Even on a through vehicle baggage must be lugged from vehicle to inspection and back.

You’re absolutely right on the TIJ tech stop.

Tanic

Similar situation exists for AM between MEX and ICN. There is a westbound stop at MTY, but nonstop eastbound to MEX. It may be the high elevation of MEX restricting the fuel weight for takeoff. TIJ and MTY are much lower.

JDiver

I believe you’re correct. Weirdly, for someone who has lived there and flown in and out very many times in 70+ years, I didn’t think of that. @:-) MEX, at 2,240 meters 7,350 ft, particularly on a hot day (highest recorded temperature in CDMD was 93F / 33.9C in May, the hottest month in the highlands) has a very high density altitude due to its elevation above sea level. This will limit useful load (fuel, crew, passengers, babggage, cargo) on long haul routes.

Does anyone know if airiness flying these sell tickets? One would have to return to MEX and fly to TIJ, but if the fares are economical vis a vis flying from SAN/LAX flying ex-TIJ might provide an alternative.

EmailKid

Did not check if AM still flies to NRT, but that too requires a tech stop. Last I looked a couple or so years ago that was TIJ.