Mexican airport operator Asur said Friday its January passenger traffic fell 4.6 percent from a year before as fewer international passengers arrived at its flagship Cancun facility.

Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste (Asur) has been slowly recovering from all-time traffic lows after a flu outbreak in Mexico slowed the economy for several days in the second quarter of last year, scaring tourists away.

The economic crisis in the United States, which supplies the bulk of international visitors to Mexico, has also hurt tourism.

Cancun, representing 75 percent of all passengers using Asur's nine airports, posted a 3 percent decline in total traffic in January.

In December, Asur's traffic dropped 4.1 percent.