Puerto Escondido Airport Pursues ICAO Certification by 2026

The Puerto Escondido International Airport in Oaxaca is preparing to obtain aerodrome certification from Mexico’s Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC) under International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards, according to airport operator Aeropuertos Mexicanos. The terminal is one of five international airports in Mexico yet to receive ICAO certification, with the process expected to conclude in 2026.

Lorenzo Ochoa Castro-Leal, CEO, Aeropuertos Mexicanos, stated that the airport has completed the technical requirements related to ICAO Annex 14, which governs airside infrastructure and operations. “We are already ready. The ICAO Annex 14 certification, which mainly concerns the airside, is already prepared. What remains is to carry out the process with the AFAC,” he told A21.

Ochoa Castro-Leal added that coordination within the airport group and with its partner, Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA), has positioned the airport to move forward. “All the work that has been done within the airport group, hand in hand with our partner ASA, gives us the technical capacity to be certified, and in the coming months we will be working toward that goal,” he said.

The AFAC has identified Puerto Escondido as one of five international airports likely to meet certification requirements next year. Maricruz Hernández García, the agency’s director of airports, said in early November that Puerto Escondido, Acapulco, Nogales, Palenque, and Mexico City International Airport are candidates to complete the process in 2026. These five terminals are the remaining uncertified airports among Mexico’s 55 international airports.

ICAO Annex 14 standards require international airports to demonstrate compliance with specifications for infrastructure, markings, operational services, and safety systems. Certification also confirms that airports can support international air transport services, including customs and immigration inspections.