DENVER — After a wave of weekend cancellations tied to cartel violence in Puerto Vallarta, flights from Denver began cautiously restarting Monday.
On Sunday, Denver7 reported on flight cancellations as United Airlines canceled all flights from Denver to Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara, and Southwest canceled four flights to Puerto Vallarta and four returning flights. A security alert was also issued with a Level 2 travel advisory in place due to "terrorism, crime, and kidnapping."
U.S. Department of State's travel advisories map for Mexico (updated Feb. 23, 2026)
Level 4 – Do not travel (red)
- State of Colima
- State of Guerrero
- State of Michoacan
- State of Sinaloa
- State of Tamaulipas
- State of Zacatecas
Level 3 – Reconsider travel (orange)
- State of Baja California
- State of Chiapas
- State of Chihuahua
- State of Guanajuato
- State of Jalisco
- State of Morelos
- State of Sonora
Level 2 – Exercise increased caution (yellow)
- State of Aguascalientes
- State of Baja California Sur
- State of Coahuila
- State of Durango
- State of Hidalgo
- Mexico City
- State of Mexico
- State of Nayarit
- State of Nuevo Leon
- State of Oaxaca
- State of Puebla
- State of Queretaro
- State of Quintana Roo
- State of San Luis Potosi
- State of Tabasco
- State of Tlaxcala
- State of Veracruz
Level 1 – Exercise normal precautions (blue)
- State of Campeche
- State of Yucatan
The below map illustrates those travel advisories.
See the full and current list of travel advisories for the United States here.
A United Airlines flight took off Monday morning from DEN for Puerto Vallarta, and a flight is expected to arrive back in the Mile High City around 7 p.m. Monday. Shannon O’Brien, founder of the Travel Purveyor, tracked flights this morning heading into Mexico and shared her expertise.
“United has decided they're comfortable enough to fly back several flights from Puerto Vallarta, so it tells me that United has made the decision that it is safe to go back into Puerto Vallarta and resume flights,” O’Brien said.
Since flights were canceled over the weekend, O’Brien explained that this could cause problems for people traveling back this morning, as there were no inbound flights.
“People are going to be stuck in Puerto Vallarta for a few days,” said O’Brien. “They're going to be unhappy. They're going to spend money that they weren't expecting to spend unless they had travel insurance, and that's a whole other can of worms.”
If you're headed to Puerto Vallarta next week, O'Brien says hold off on cancelling, as things could shift in the next few days, and she's not viewing this as a major concern.
“This is not a big deal to me because we've gotten people home from Israel, so this is close to home,” said O’Brien. “We know this is an isolated incident. We know it's going to clear up and, business as usual, be normal.”
One recommendation O’Brien shared was to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP), which is free and provides updates on safety in the area and helps the Department of State get in contact in case of an emergency.
Watch Maggy Wolanske's report in the video below.
Judy Hammel and Stephen Johanson are visiting Puerto Vallarta from Fort Collins. The two say they have felt a shift in the city over the past 48 hours and have seen smoke in the area.
The two explained, “Yesterday we went downtown in Puerto Vallarta to go to church, and as we were driving there, we saw black billowing smoke coming from one location. Then, after church, when we walked out, they warned us that the cartel was retaliating because they had lost their leader and there were fires everywhere. That was very eerie, just walking out of church because there was no traffic, no boats, no ships.”
The resort they are staying at is not far from the airport, but during our Zoom interview, they said very few flights were coming in. Regarding any concerns, Hammel expressed concern about the food supply at these resorts.
“The cartel is destroying some of the major roads, trying to hinder the transportation and the resources coming into the resort, and so basically, it's just having enough food to support and feed the people here,” explained Hammel. “There's only one little store here, and they're buying everything they can get their hands on.”
For now, the two are looking ahead, with a return trip to Colorado on the horizon and hoping it'll be an easy one.
“We can't anticipate what could possibly happen, so we just have to be present in the moment, so to speak,” Hammel said.
