Discussion Table Sets New Goals to Improve Aviation

The Mexican government opened a discussion table for aeronautical authorities and airlines to discuss efforts to improve the sector. Meanwhile, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador denied that the airspace redesign following the opening of Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA) is complicating air operations in the Mexico City metropolitan area. He added that to improve operations, domestic and charter cargo flights will be immediately transferred to AIFA.

The meeting of the coordination table was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT), Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA) and the Mexican Navy (SEMAR), and from directors Aeroméxico, Volaris and Viva Aerobús. The meeting ended with six main agreements to improve aviation in Mexico:

• National and international passenger transport airlines will maintain their respective landing and take-off schedules during the 2022 summer season at Mexico City International Airport (AICM). Operations at this airport will remain unaffected.
• Significantly increase flights to and from AIFA to surpass 100 daily operations. The details of this new flight offer will be announced in the coming days.
• Domestic cargo and charter operations will immediately migrate from AICM to AIFA. Likewise, airlines currently operating in AICM that owe the airport debts on fuel, taxes and others will not have to migrate to another terminal.
• No new incoming flights to the AICM will be authorized and an increase in operations during the 2022 summer season will not be allowed.
• More efforts to recover Category 1 will be established by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), allowing airlines to expand their service offerings to and from that country.
• Airlines will work closely with different government agencies, particularly the Navigation Services in the Mexican Air Space (Seneam), to continue offering a safe and reliable service in the skies of the national territory.

Controversy has surrounded AIFA since the start of its construction. These new agreements are worrying airlines and other businesses. Cargo airlines are requesting help to transfer their operations to AIFA, emphasizing the need for the new site to have all the necessary service providers to operate safely and efficiently.

Meanwhile, if AICM decides to suspend operators that have long-standing debts with the airport, it has to act under the provisions of its contracts with operators. The withdrawal of concessions or permits can seriously affect the industry. “The effort must focus on an administration that supports business development for aviation, that is, a flexible commercial and business administration that turns the airport into a strategic partner for the airlines and not an imposition that can be ruinous for the airline industry,” said Rosa María Montero, Specialist in Aeronautical Policy, to A21.