The Mexican government on Thursday ordered the former Mexico City airport to reduce its flights by 17%, triggering warnings from airlines about possible cancellations massive thefts.
The new rules expected to take effect by Oct. 29 would require the terminal to reduce the number of flights per hour at the airport from 52 to 43. The airport has a design capacity of about 61 flights per hour, but this has already been reduced to 52 before. The airport is experiencing maintenance issues, including flooding or sewage odors in some areas. But the country’s Air Industry Chamber says this is because the government withdrew revenue from the terminal to fund an airport project elsewhere which was later cancelled.
The National Air Transport Chamber said new rules for Mexico City International Airport, or AICM, would harm passengers, airlines and industry workers. “This unexpected reduction, scheduled for October 29, will imply the need to massively cancel flights, including for passengers who have already purchased tickets,” the chamber said in a statement. “The real problem with the AICM is that the revenue it generates is not invested in its infrastructure. »
When President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador took office at the end of 2018, he immediately canceled the project partly built by his predecessor of a new terminal largest in the neighboring town of Texcoco. Instead, López Obrador has built another new terminal at a military air base much further north, but passengers and airlines are reluctant to pass through Felipe Angeles Zumpango Airportbecause it is further away and not easily accessible by expressway.
López Obrador clearly wants to force airlines and passengers to move to his new, currently underutilized Felipe Angeles Terminal. In any case, industry sources said this could be one of the reasons behind the new flight limitation rules, although the president cited security reasons. Last February, the Mexican government issued a decree ordering the interruption of flights 100% cargo at the international airport of the capital Mexico City for the benefit of the Felipe Ángeles International Airport in Zumpango.
