AIFA: how much is it estimated that the Polanco air taxi ride to the new airport will cost

Next Monday, March 21, the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) will be inaugurated, one of the most important works to be developed during the six-year term of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO). However, this public work has been the target of several criticisms, due to its remoteness from Mexico City.

Last Wednesday, March 16, the president said, during his morning press conference, that he would demonstrate, next Monday, that 40 minutes can be done from Palacio Nacional, his residence, to the new airport, located in Santa Lucia, State of Mexico.

This, after announcing that he would no longer sleep in the hotel that was built inside the airport, as he had stated earlier, because the property did not have certification and does not want to show influence. “I'm going to sleep here (in the National Palace) to show them that I'm going to make half an hour there. There we are going to meet at 7 and I will be at 6 at the security meeting.

“The hotel is finished, it's very good, what happens is that we need a certification and since I heard the comment by Joaquín (López-Dóriga) that made me laugh, that it will take me two hours to arrive, well no, I'm going to sleep here and I'm going to do 40 minutes,” said the head of the federal executive.

Later, on Friday, López Obrador (AMLO) announced that the new Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA) will be serviced by air taxis from some areas of the City from Mexico as Polanco.

The president recalled that airports in large cities such as New York, Washington, London or Madrid are located on the outskirts of those metropolises. However, he announced that for all those people who have great economic resources, they will be able to travel by air taxis.

“(...) There will also be and I take this opportunity to announce, trips for those who have resources, from Polanco to the airport... Air taxis, they are almost going to drop them in their apartments... from their apartment to the airport”, he stressed while clarifying that these are concessions to individuals.

The news has given us something to talk about, because although AMLO did not report on the prices that these trips will have, it has made more than one wonder about the costs they will have.

However, it should be remembered that this air taxi service has existed in Mexico since 2016, when Cabify launched its premium CabiFly Shuttle option to transport its customers by air from Polanco, one of the most exclusive areas of Mexico City, located west of it, to the airport Mexico City International (AICM).

The president said that there will be three companies that have already “signed up” to offer this type of services to Felipe Ángeles Airport, however, as already mentioned, prices were not given. However, to give you an idea of how much this trip will cost, we can take into account that CabiFly Shuttle charges 100 USD to transport people from Polanco to the AICM. This translates into 2 thousand 38 Mexican pesos. From the exclusive area located in the mayor's office Miguel Hidalgo to the AICM there is a distance of 16.6 kilometers.

However, AIFA is further away from Polanco, as it is 54.7 kilometers, or more than three times the distance. Therefore, it is likely that the cost to this new airport could increase between 3 thousand and 4 thousand 500 pesos, to vary between 5 and 6 thousand 500 Mexican pesos.

Another company competing in this market is Voom, known as the “Air Uber”, and depending on the mileage set, prices range from 2,300 pesos to 6,400, a distance that would be equivalent to traveling from AICM to Toluca airport, which is 65.6 kilometers.

In addition, there are other private companies that offer the service of air taxis with helicopters, which have different rates. For example, the company Yumping, has a shared flight over Mexico City, which costs 2,350 pesos per person. However, a flight without sharing, for 60 minutes in the capital, costs 9,800 pesos.

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