Mexican Airlines’ Stocks Take a Hit

The effect of the pandemic has reflected this week in the value of Mexican airline stocks. There was a remarkable decrease in the value of the shares of various airlines after more and more restrictions were implemented in the aviation sector. However, cases like Viva Aerobus’ show opportunity for recovery. 

According to the data presented by the Mexican stock exchange, when Canada canceled flights to Mexico, a fall in several airlines’ stock market values ensued. As reported by El Economista, Aeroméxico closed January with a fall of 3.11 percent to trade at MX$7.17 (US$ 0.35), representing a loss of 5.03 percent in 2021. Volaris fell 1.99 percent, trading at MX$23.10 (US$ 1.14), reporting a 6.74 percent loss in 2021, as well. The cancellation of flights from Canada and new sanitary measures for flights to the US dealt a heavy blow to passenger traffic arriving in Mexico, as these two countries represent 15.6 percent of annual passengers and 2 million of the tourists arriving in the country, reports El Economista. 

In a previous MBN article, it was also mentioned that Mexican airlines are MX$732 million (US$36.2 million) in debt due to overdue rights of airspace use payments, which also contributes to the industry’s dire situation. 

On the other hand, there are airlines like Viva Aerobus that have actually grown during the pandemic. In a previous MBN article, it was mentioned that the airline expanded its routes from Mexico City to Los Mochis and Durango, as well as to Chicago and Ciudad Obregon. VivaAerobus was one of the first airlines to jump to action when the new sanitary regulations were announced, according to MBN. The company, however, is still struggling to recover its pre-pandemic levels. “In January 2021 we registered more than 840,000 passengers, a decrease of 18.9 percent compared to January 2020 caused by the effects of the current pandemic. The occupation rate was 72.3 percent, 14.3 percentage points less than in the same month last year,” said Viva Aerobus in a statement.