The Queretaro International Airport Becomes a Strategic Cargo Hub

The Queretaro International Airport (AIQ) is considered the entry to Mexico’s most productive region. Therefore, the state of Queretaro has become a strategic cargo hub for Latin America´s aerospace, automotive and food industries.

The AIQ is the third cargo airfield in Mexico and has become the economic power of the region, attracting large amounts of foreign investment, due to its geostrategic position as it connects with the Bajio, north and south regions of the country. 

The biggest logistics companies such as DHL, Federal Express (FedEx), UPS and Mercado Libre operate from the AIQ. DHL connects domestic flights to Guadalajara while FedEx transports cargo to its head office in Memphis, Tennessee, while also operating domestic flights to Monterrey. UPS connects to Louisville, Kentucky, a route that links to 200 plus worldwide destinations. Mercado Libre integrated recently into the AIQ’s cargo terminal through MeLi Air, its freight branch.  

Since large logistics companies operate from the AIQ, the airport’s infrastructure has grown 150 percent in the last five years. Terminal Logistics, the company that administers AIQ’s cargo terminal, is currently planning to enlarge its platform due to the increase in freight transportation demand.

In its 17 years of operations, the airport has transported over 350,000 tons of cargo, while currently transporting approximately5,000 tons of cargo every month. This airport is the first one to receive the security certification issued by the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC) for four years in a row. Large tonnage freighter aircrafts such as Antonov – 124, which have been used to transport locomotives, yachts, aircraft fuselages and other large cargoes, operate as well inside the AIQ.

As reported recently by MBN, aside from being considered Mexico’s strategic cargo hub, the state of Queretaro holds MX$80 billion investment portfolio with 34 potential upcoming projects expected to create 15,000 new jobs. Although the state has focused mainly on the IT sector given the recent growth in investments in data centers, there is a strong interest in the manufacturing, automotive and aerospace industries. 

“Mexico and the world trust Queretaro. We are the largest auto parts supplier in the country. We consolidated our presence in Industry 4.0 in ITC. We are more competitive in logistics since we have the airport with the highest growth rate nationwide. We reached historical levels in foreign direct investment (FDI), consolidating value chains with North America, the EU and Asia,” said former Governor Francisco Servién.