Mexico remains in category two as 16 international airlines resist moving from AICM

While Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City (AICM) is home to five domestic and 16 international airlines, the Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA) started flying this Monday, March 21 with four commercial airlines: Aeromexico, Viva Aerobús, Volaris and Conviasa (Venezuela), with the promise of part of the federal government that major airlines will soon join the offer of the new air terminal.

Despite federal government urges, international airlines operating in Mexico City have declined the offer to move part of their flights to AIFA on the grounds that Benito Juárez Airport maintains the necessary certifications for its operations. The outlook for Felipe Ángeles looks uphill if we consider that Mexican companies are unable to establish new routes to the United States because the Administration US Federal Aviation (FAA) keeps our country in category 2 for failing to meet the air supervision standards required by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

The airlines that could move to AIFA are Air Canada, Airfrance, American Airlines, Avianca, British Airways, Copa Airlines, Cubana, Delta, Iberia, KLM, Latam Airlines, Lufthansa, United, ANA, Emirates and Wingo.

Authorities from the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) announced that in the second half of 2022 international airlines such as Delta Airlines and Copa Airlines are expected to start operations in this new terminal, thereby increasing the supply of international flights since so far there is only the Venezuela-Mexico route through the company Conviasa.

Before the inauguration, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador stated that he personally held a phone call with Delta's senior manager to try to convince the Aeromexico partner to operate some flights from AIFA to the United States. Regarding the outcome of the conversation, he said “It was up to them to review the possibility of flying from Felipe Angeles airport to the United States.”

For the Mexican government, it is a priority for AIFA to operate flights to and from the United States, as it is the main trading partner, in addition to the large number of Mexicans residing in that country. However, for the time being, Mexican airlines are unable to transfer part of their flights from the International Airport of Mexico City Benito Juárez (AICM) because Mexico is located.

Given the uncertainty that Mexico will be able to regain category 1 this 2022 despite advances in air surveillance, it is vital for Mexican authorities that US airlines bet on modifying their routes from the Mexican capital to various destinations in the United States. The reason is that the aircraft of these companies are regulated and supervised by the US government itself, which is why for the moment they are the only ones that could receive authorization to fly to that country from Felipe Angeles International Airport.

It should be noted that airlines in Mexico can still fly regularly from AICM and other airports in Mexico to several cities in the United States, that is, as they were at the time when Mexico suffered the degradation from category 1 to 2. As long as our country remains at that level of qualification, Mexican-flagged companies are prevented from modifying or opening new routes to the neighbor to the north.

Although Aeromexico has a commercial agreement with Delta, at the moment the Mexican company cannot open flights from Felipe Ángeles to any destination that involves flying over United States territory. Although airlines from other countries could open routes without major problems from the AiFA, so far they have merely said that they are still analyzing the possibilities.

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