The Cross Border Xpress (CBX) authorities announced the completion of the expanded US Custom and Border Protection (CBP), easing the connectivity between San Diego and the Tijuana International Airport (TIJ). This newly finished project is the latest milestone as part of a multimillion-dollar expansion.
A brief look at CBX
The Tijuana International Airport in Mexico is one of the few places in the world where you can enter two countries very quickly. Since 2015, TIJ has had the Cross Border Xpress, an enclosed pedestrian sky bridge connecting San Diego, California, directly to the airport.
Slowly but surely, Tijuana International Airport has become one of Mexico’s main hubs in the last few years. In 2021, Tijuana had 9.6 million passengers, growing by 8.4% compared to its pre-pandemic traffic trends.
More than 2.7 million passengers utilized the Cross Border Xpress in 2021, marking a 64% increase in traffic over the previous year and just 4.9 % below pre-pandemic numbers in 2019.
Additional to the CBX, a crucial asset towards connectivity in Tijuana, the airport benefits from the heavy presence of Mexico’s largest airline, by passenger numbers, Volaris. The low-cost carrier employs TIJ as one of its secondary hubs. As of February 2022, Volaris flies to 35 Mexican destinations from this airport, covering the whole country.
Crossing through the airport is now easier
In 2020, the CBX authorities began a multimillion-dollar expansion project to increase the capacity of the sky bridge.
Yesterday, they introduced the expanded US Custom and Border Protection (CBP) area at the bi-national facility.
The CBP expansion includes an additional 6,945 square feet of space to the processing area within the CBX-San Diego terminal. This allows for streamlined operations and a more efficient passenger experience. They also added four double-stacked booths, enabling up to 16 officers to process passengers during peak demand.
Jorge Goytortúa, CBX CEO, said,
“Since opening CBX in 2015, it’s been our mission to change the way people travel by offering a faster, more efficient way to cross one of the busiest borders in the world. The latest enhancements will allow us to accommodate the increased passenger demand that we have seen over the past years and streamline operations to make the travel experience even better for our guests.”
CBX authorities expect up to seven million passengers to cross the bridge by 2036, up from the 2.7 million last year.
What’s next?
CBX is an economic engine for the Tijuana region, as well as the city of San Diego. The mayor of the US city, Todd Gloria, said TIJ is the only genuinely bi-national airport. CBX is an innovative and unique terminal providing access to easier and more connected travel.
The recent CBX expansion coincides with the construction of TIJ’s new multi-level passenger processing facility, now underway.
The new facility will double the airport’s footprint with an additional 484,000 square feet when complete. This will allow airlines to expand international air service significantly. The first phase of the project is slated for completion in March 2022, and the second, final phase will be completed by December 2022.
This latest expansion is part of the CBX master plan, which will eventually include hotels and restaurants, a business center with office and conference areas, an on-site car rental facility, and expanded parking with nearly 10,000 stalls.
CBX has also introduced the Simplified Arrival system. This system includes the introduction of biometric facial comparison technology, allowing primary officers to process and issue I-94 permits at the primary booths if passengers have previously processed their permits online.
Have you used the CBX to cross between Mexico and the United States before? How was your experience? Let us know in the comments below.
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