The relocation of cargo operations and the reduction of operations per hour at the Mexico City International Airport (AICM) are considered unilateral actions outside the agreed open skies policy.
The Undersecretary of Transportation of the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT), Rogelio Jiménez Pons, assured that the government of Mexico has not failed to comply with the air agreement it has with the United States, as argued by the Department of Transportation of that country ( DOT) to end the antitrust immunity required by the Joint Cooperation Agreement between Aeroméxico and Delta Airlines.
"We are managing through the Mexican Embassy. We have already established our position. The issue is not new because we have had this discussion with them for more than a year and we maintain that we have not modified, altered or contravened what At least the bilateral agreement is a matter of interpretation,” he said.
In a brief meeting with the media, the official explained that in response to the issue he has frequent communication with the director of Aeroméxico, Andrés Conesa and that they have already prepared documents expressing Mexico's position, which will be public soon.
According to the DOT, removing cargo operations from the Mexico City International Airport (AICM) and reducing operations per hour to mitigate current saturation are unilateral actions that are not in line with the open skies policy that is being implemented. agreed.
“They may say things, but we made the decisions for technical reasons, the airport could no longer hold up. The cargo companies that originally complained, especially American, are earning more than before. The losses here (at the AICM) due to the wait at the facilities affected them and now (at the AIFA), operations went from 14 to 40... Everyone is doing well,” he mentioned.
In the process of listening to opinions from the sector on the DOT's preliminary decision (which proposes next October as the end date of immunity), American Airlines has expressed its support for the authority by sharing the concern that Mexico, due to the decisions made, does not is complying with the open skies agreement.
In this regard, the Mexican official said that he is aware that there are United States airlines that feel uncomfortable due to the good role that Delta and Aeroméxico have played with their alliance.
“The thing is that we have to be very objective. We are waiting for an objective analysis from the DOT, which I believe will be given in due course. In addition, there is another alliance in process between VivaAerobus and Allegiant that will also be very productive for both countries. “I think we have to find a way to encourage those alliances,” he added. Despite the lack of a statement on this issue from the Mexican government, at least until Friday, Jiménez Pons reiterated that this does not mean that they are not working and that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is aware of the work they do on a daily basis.
