A recent update to American Airlines international schedule will see its shortest international route to its southern neighbor, with the suspension of services between Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) and Tijuana International Airport (TIJ). The route, which covers a short distance of just 295 miles (472 km), takes just over an hour gate to gate and is currently served by the CRJ700.

The route, which was launched in February 2024, has been the shortest in the American Airlines Mexico network since it began, and is the fifth shortest when taking into consideration all trans-border flights between all airlines serving the United States to the Mexico market. Tijuana International Airport (TIJ) is located right on the US border, neighbouring the Southern California city of San Diego.

Phoenix To Tijuana Will Be Axed On August 2

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Using data from Cirium, an online aviation analytics company, identifies that the oneworld carrier will axe its shortest route to Mexico from August 2. This is currently Tijuana’s sole US route, and will leave the only other international operator at Tijuana being that of Chinese carrier Hainan Airlines (more about that later).

American Airlines service to Tijuana was initially launched two years ago and was then suggested to be a game-changer as an attractive entry point for foreign travelers looking to explore Mexico, while also being a prime location due to its booming manufacturing center and culinary town. American was the only US carrier to serve one of the fastest-growing cities in Mexico.

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Those traveling on the short international hop could then easily transit to and from the airline’s extensive Phoenix operations to more than 100 destinations from the Arizona airport. Tijuana International Airport, at the time, became the airline’s 26th destination in Mexico. The airline currently flies the following schedule as per the AA website:

Extensive Domestic Connectivity

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American Airlines was the only airline to recognize the boom town that has become of Tijuana, and the city has recently been gaining notoriety as a culinary town, paired with its commercial interests, clearly lured American into being the only international operator.

Tijuana arguably has an extensive network of domestic services across Mexico, and American Airlines passengers would be able to make the most of these services if looking to venture further into the country, with only Mexico City International Airport (MEX) having a stronger foothold on domestic operations.

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The only other international operator at Tijuana is that of Hainan Airlines. Looking at the airline’s website, it states that the airline will operate flights between Beijing Capital Airport(PEK) and Tijuana, with its Boeing 787-9 aircraft. These flights are part of the airline’s onward flights to Mexico City; the aircraft requires a technical stopover in Tijuana in both directions, and thus can collect passengers for international travel to and from Tijuana and China. Below schedule as per the Hainan Airlines website:

As American Airlines peels back its services to Tijuana, this will leave Hainan Airlines the only foreign carrier serving the Northern Mexican airport.

American Airlines Shortest Routes To Mexico

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With data from Cirium, Simple Flying analysed American Airlines’ shortest international services to Mexico, which depart from Phoenix, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), and Miami International Airport (MIA). As detailed in the table below:

The most popular route overall is that of Dallas/Fort Worth to Monterrey, with the airline having a total of 1,382 one-way flights (double for both directions) in 2026. The route with the least frequency is that of Miami to Tulum, with a total of 158 one-way flights in 2026.