AIFA Seeks to Boost Routes, Airlines, and Demand

Mexico’s Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) has launched a public tender to hire a specialized consultancy to design a market strategy aimed at increasing passenger traffic, airline participation, and cargo operations, according to bidding documents published on the federal procurement platform Compras MX. The main goals include identifying viable routes, negotiating with airlines, and addressing operational constraints nearly four years after the airport opened.

The tender, identified as LA-07-HZI-007HZI999-N-119-2025, calls for a consulting firm to review AIFA’s performance since opening, including the number of passengers transported, route-level results, and airline responses. Based on that analysis, the airport plans to determine which destinations have generated demand and which have not, and to identify factors limiting connectivity growth.

The document states that the consultancy will help define “what routes to open, with which companies, and under what conditions so that flights can consolidate.” It also requires the firm to accompany AIFA in negotiations with airlines throughout the year, signaling a hands-on advisory role rather than a one-off study.

AIFA plans to compare its performance with nearby airports, including Mexico City International Airport (AICM), and to identify domestic and international markets that currently lack direct connections from the terminal. The goal, according to the tender, is to create a “road map” to address operational limitations and strengthen the airport’s functioning in the medium term.

The contract requires the development of a five-year route growth proposal, including passenger and cargo traffic projections and profitability estimates for each proposed route. The airport specifies that the strategy is not short term and must include mechanisms to evaluate results through key performance indicators.

The tender links airport performance to ground access. It asks the consultancy to conduct an integrated study of land mobility and accessibility to assess how passengers and cargo reach AIFA, identify bottlenecks, and propose solutions across short, medium, and long-term horizons, reports El Universal.

The plan should also include the creation of a sales dossier with market data, demand analysis, and passenger segmentation, as well as the organization of commercial missions aimed at airlines and investors. The strategy will define the airport’s primary, secondary, and tertiary catchment areas and link them to regional economic activity.

AIFA has transported over 17 million passengers since it began operations in March 2022, according to Isidoro Pastor, Director, AIFA. The airport closed 2025 with more than 7 million passengers, a year-over-year increase of over 12% compared with 2024, report MBN. The airport’s Master Development Program projects 9 million passengers in 2026.

The airport’s international network includes three foreign airlines: Copa Airlines, Arajet, and Conviasa. International routes served from AIFA include Santo Domingo, Punta Cana, Bogota, and Caracas. The airport also handles a non-regular charter flight to Sofia, Bulgaria, operated by GullivAir.

Separately, the Defense Ministry has pursued passenger growth through advertising for other infrastructure projects. In December 2025, Mexico’s Regulatory Agency for Railway Transport (ARTF) issued the official tender bases for a new construction package of the Saltillo–Nuevo Laredo passenger train, reports MBN. The international open tender aims at awarding a multi-year, lump-sum public works contract for the “Construction and design of 8.854km” of the line under Segment 15 “A1”, located in the Monterrey Metropolitan Area.