Helicopter tours and hire in Cabo San Lucas

Sources:FlyCabo: helicopter tours, air taxi and private charters, checked 19 October 2026Cabo Fun Tours: helicopter tours from SJD airport, last modified 19 November 2025

• Airport transfers by air taxi from Los Cabos International to a resort or private home.
• Charter flights to and from the main destinations of Baja California Sur and the Mexican Riviera, and expedition flights such as whale watching at Magdalena Bay.
• Private charters are priced for the whole helicopter, from MX$29,190 to MX$85,170 per flight hour as a guide.
• Private aviation into Los Cabos grew 70% in 2020 to 2021 over 2019 arrivals, so book aircraft and airport permission early in peak weeks.

Sources:FlyCabo: helicopter tours, air taxi and private charters, checked 19 October 2026Los Cabos Tourism Board: Fly Cabo listingEl Financiero, 26 April 2022: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico's only private international airport

• A paid helicopter flight is non-scheduled domestic air transport, which covers charter and air taxi work. It needs an AFAC permit, and that permit is granted only to Mexican companies (Ley de Aviación Civil, articles 11 and 23).
• In law a helipuerto is a civil aerodrome for the exclusive use of helicopters, and the AFAC exercises its authority at aerodromes and heliports (Ley de Aviación Civil, articles 2 and 7).
• Under article 17 of the Ley de Aeropuertos, the AFAC grants permits to manage, operate, exploit and, where needed, build civil aerodromes that are not airports, heliports included. A permit runs for up to 30 years and can be extended.
• Article 18 asks the applicant to show legal, technical, administrative and financial capacity and the right to use the land. The authority has 90 days to decide; for a private-service site, a permit not answered in time is deemed granted for ten years.
• Article 17 of the Reglamento lists the papers for a private-service permit: identity or company deeds, a sworn statement under article 22 of the law, proof the land may be used as an aerodrome, and the technical and environmental studies. A heliport skips the airspace study and the financial capacity file but must add an operational study of its approach and departure paths (estudio operacional de trayectorias).
• Uncontrolled heliports used only under visual flight rules can be spared the path and airspace studies when they meet the distance conditions in article 18 from airports and Mexican Air Force bases.
• The authority's safety checklist for a heliport permit asks for a fenced area with controlled access, approaches free of obstacles and proper signs, and names an honorary commander who logs operations with the nearest controlled airport.
• AFAC mandatory circular CO DA-05/07 R1 (dated 20 April 2012) requires a heliport's physical layout and obstacle limitation surfaces to meet ICAO specifications.

Sources:Cámara de Diputados: Ley de Aviación Civil, last reformed DOF 14 November 2025 (PDF)Cámara de Diputados: Ley de Aeropuertos, last reformed DOF 14 November 2025, articles 17 and 18 (PDF)Cámara de Diputados: Reglamento de la Ley de Aeropuertos, last reformed DOF 9 June 2026, article 17 (PDF)SCT, Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil: form FF-SCT-002, minimum safety requirements for a helipuerto permit (PDF)vLex México: AFAC mandatory circular CO DA-05/07 R1 on airports, aerodromes and heliports, dated 20 April 2012MexicanLaws: CO DA-05/07 R1, requirements for the construction, modification and operation of heliports (Spanish and English text)

• Only a Mexican company holding an AFAC permit for charter or air taxi work may fly you for money.
• The company selling a tour or seat is not always the one that flies it. Ask who operates the flight and for its AFAC permit number.
• Operators may use only aerodromes, heliports included, whose classification and category suit the aircraft and the service (Reglamento, article 6). Ask whether a hotel or private pad holds its permit.
• As a broker, Altivo Jets names the operator and its AFAC permit on your quote before you book.

Sources:Cámara de Diputados: Ley de Aviación Civil, last reformed DOF 14 November 2025 (PDF)Cámara de Diputados: Reglamento de la Ley de Aeropuertos, last reformed DOF 9 June 2026, article 17 (PDF)