ALTA’s stance on the new operational constraints at AICM

Mexico City International Airport (AICM) is one of the main airports worldwide with more than 5 thousand passengers accommodated per hour in an efficient and on-time manner. It is an extremely important hub in the Latin America and Caribbean region, where operational constraints are not a novelty.

Today, Mexico is the largest commercial aviation market in Latin America with about 60 million passengers carried in the first half of 2023, with 62 airlines operating in the country and over 350 routes connecting Mexico worldwide.

Last year, the AICM agreed with the airlines to reduce its operations per hour, from 61 to 52, in order to ensure the proper functioning of the airport and to enable works to improve passenger experience. However, today a unilateral decision was made to further reduce these operations to 43 per hour.

ALTA supports the stance presented by the National Chamber of Air Transport (CANAERO) and industry stakeholders. We point out 5 reasons why this measure is detrimental to the country, its aviation industry and its passengers:

1. As of October 29, passengers will be affected, as they will face a significant increase in delays and cancellations on flights that were already on schedule and on sale. Furthermore, it is very likely that ticket prices will also increase as the supply of flights in the Valley of Mexico will be reduced.
2. The implementation of unilateral measures makes effective planning difficult, as it creates uncertainty as to what unilateral measures may come next, affecting the potential of the Mexican air market. Airlines need to plan their schedules for the future with processes that require a minimum of six months in advance.
3. It complicates the scenario for the recovery of Category 1, which Mexico dropped over two years ago. Failure to return to Category 1 will continue to affect the Mexican aviation industry, which, because of the restrictions, is unable to operate new routes, increase frequencies or change the equipment it uses to operate to this country. There are currently 23,000 flights per month between Mexico and the United States, out of which over 70% are operated by U.S. airlines.
4. It restricts the economic income generated to the country by the travel and tourism industry. In 2022, the AICM received 1 out of every 5 international tourists entering Mexico by air. In the same year, the economic revenue generated by the entry of international tourists in Mexico exceeded 26 billion dollars (INEGI). The reduction of tourists will impact industries beyond aviation, such as hotels, restaurants, handicrafts and ground transport, to name a few.
5. It generates a climate of legal uncertainty that undermines confidence in Mexico for the establishment of investments and growth plans for the coming years.

The high risk with unilateral decisions is that it does not consider the needs of the airlines, the advance planning that has already been carried out, nor does it have all the necessary data for an informed decision making. As an industry we want to support the authorities in their decision making with information, analysis and awareness of international best practices.

ALTA makes an urgent call to establish joint working groups aimed at analyzing and solving the problems that arise, support the country from a technical point of view and encourage the AICM to continue being a functional airport. ALTA reaffirms its call for dialogue and collaboration.