Mazatlán International Airport (), officially Aeropuerto Internacional General Rafael Buelna (General Rafael Buelna International Airport; ), is an international airport located in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico. It serves as the primary international gateway to Mazatlán, a popular Mexican tourist destination, offering flights to and from Mexico, the United States, and Canada. The airport also facilitates various tourism-related activities, flight training, and general aviation. Owned by Grupo Aeroportuario Centro Norte (OMA), it is named after Rafael Buelna, a military figure who played a significant role in the Mexican Revolution.
Mazatlán Airport is the busiest in Sinaloa for international passengers and ranks second to Culiacán International Airport for domestic operations. It serves as a gateway in a heavily traveled air corridor connecting mainland Mexico to the Baja California peninsula. In 2024, the airport handled 1,868,817 passengers, and this number decreased to 1,736,208 in 2024, according to OMA.
Satellite A serves domestic flights and features waiting areas with shops and food stands. It has four gates: gates 7 and 9 are located on the top floor and are equipped with jet bridges, while gates 6, 8, and 10 are located on the ground floor, where passengers board their aircraft directly from the apron. Airlines operating from this satellite include Aeromexico, Aeromexico Connect, Viva Aerobus, Volaris, TAR, Magni, Calafia Airlines, and Aero Servicio Guerrero.
Satellite B serves international flights, primarily from U.S. American and Canadian airlines. It features sitting areas, food stands, and duty-free shops. This Satellite also features four gates (gates 1–5), with two of them equipped with jet bridges. Airlines operating from Satellite B include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, American Eagle, Sun Country Airlines, United Express, and Westjet.
Other facilities
thumb|Terminal map
Adjacent to the terminal, other facilities include civil aviation hangars, cargo and logistics and courier companies, and designated spaces for general aviation. The parking facility provides both short-term and long-term parking spaces.
Mazatlán Area Control Center (ACC) is one of four Area Control Centres in Mexico, with the others being the Mexico City ACC, Monterrey ACC, and Mérida ACC. It operates under the Mexican Airspace Navigation Services, (). Mazatlán ACC provides air traffic control services to aircraft within the Mazatlán Flight Data Region (FDRG). This region includes the entire Baja California Peninsula, the Gulf of California, the northern Pacific Coast of Mexico, the states of Sonora and Sinaloa, and western sections of Chihuahua, Durango, and Nayarit. It shares its boundaries with six other Area Control Centers. To the east, it is adjacent to the Monterrey ACC and Mexico ACC, while to the north, it borders the Los Angeles ARTCC and Albuquerque ARTCC. To the west, it borders the Oakland Oceanic ARTCC (KZAK) and Mazatlán Oceanic (MMFO) Flight Information Regions (FIR).
Additionally, the Mazatlan Oceanic Air Control Center (ICAO: MMFO) is located at the Mazatlán Airport. This center is responsible for providing air traffic control services within its Flight Information Region (FIR), which is one of two FIRs in Mexico, covering a significant portion of the North Pacific Ocean and spanning . Its borders include the Oakland Oceanic ARTCC (KZAK) to the West, the Mexico FIR (MMFR) to the east, and the Central American FIR (MHTG) to the south.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
Destinations map
{| class="collapsible uncollapsed" style="border:1px #aaa solid; width:50em; margin:0.2em auto"
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Statistics
Annual Traffic
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Passenger statistics at MZT
! Year!! Total Passengers!! change %
|-
! 2008 || 833,714 ||
|-
! 2009 || 743,556 || 10.82%
|-
! 2010 || 756,122 || 1.69%
|-
! 2011 || 722,492 || 4.45%
|-
! 2012 || 669,407 || 7.35%
|-
! 2013 || 731,297 || 9.25%
|-
! 2014 || 789,234 || 7.92%
|-
! 2015 || 853,409 || 8.13%
|-
! 2016 || 973,440 || 14.07%
|-
! 2017 || 994,283 || 2.14%
|-
! 2018 || 1,038,555 || 4.45%
|-
! 2019 || 1,161,155 || 11.81%
|-
! 2020 || 740,306 || 36.24%
|-
! 2021 || 1,106,071 || 49.42%
|-
! 2022 || 1,450,944 || 31.18%
|-
! 2023 || 1,621,740 || 11.77%
|-
! 2024 || 1,868,817 || 15.24%
|-
! 2025 || 1,736,208 || 7.10%
|}
Busiest routes
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%" width= align=
|+ Busiest domestic routes from MZT (Jan–Dec 2025)
|-
! Rank
! style=width:22em | Airport
! Passengers
|-
| 1
| Mexico City, Mexico City
| align="right"| 260,979
|-
| 2
| Tijuana, Baja California
| align="right"| 227,289
|-
| 3
| Monterrey, Nuevo León
| align="right"| 83,374
|-
| 4
| Mexico City-AIFA, State of Mexico
| align="right"| 49,411
|-
| 5
| Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua
| align="right"| 30,528
|-
| 6
| Chihuahua, Chihuahua
| align="right"| 16,403
|-
| 7
| La Paz, Baja California Sur
| align="right"| 11,954
|-
| 8
| Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur
| align="right"| 7,649
|-
| 9
| Querétaro, Querétaro
| align="right"| 5,969
|-
| 10
| León/Bajío, Guanajuato
| align="right"| 801
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%" width= align=
|+ Busiest international routes from MZT (Jan–Dec 2025)