To improve the travel experience at Mexico's main airport and comply with operational safety standards on the ground, during the six-year period to end, voices have been heard proposing to build a third passenger terminal.

The results of the “major surgery” carried out at the Mexico City International Airport (AICM) will not be seen before 2026, because the technical planning stage must be prioritized so that the execution results are as expected in time and cost, and the decision of what will be done must consider the role it will actually play in the Metropolitan Airport System (SAM), considered the director of the Airport, Rear Admiral José Ramón Rivera Parga.

To improve the travel experience at Mexico's main airport and comply with operational safety standards on the ground, during the six-year period to end, voices have been heard proposing to build a third passenger terminal (in areas surrounding Terminal 1 or Terminal 1). terminal 2), use part of the land of Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA) as parking and auxiliary infrastructure, new access roads and even build the new terminal in Texcoco and connect with a train.

In the aviation sector, it is known that the Secretariats of the Navy (Semar) and of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) already have alternatives for improvement in the AICM, which became necessary after the growing reactivation of activity after the impact. of the Covid-19 pandemic, which, by the way, led to the cancellation of a first attempt to have a new terminal attached to terminal 2 that would open in 2021.

“There are several proposals, but we consider it advisable to wait for the (incoming) federal authorities to give us approval so as not to create chaos. What we seek in the end is to improve the conditions of our airport, to make the passenger experience more pleasant and safe, but regardless of what we are planning, every day we are investing in maintenance," the official explained.

Consequently, Parga (as he is known in Semar) does not venture investment amounts or financing methods for the next “major surgery.”

Their argument is that the virtual president-elect of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, has reiterated that to promote aviation in the center of the Aztec country she will strengthen land connectivity to the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) and that there will be “a comprehensive improvement of the International Airport Benito Juárez of Mexico City.”

The situation of the terminal is not foreign to him. While she was Head of Government, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador delegated the structural reinforcement of the foundation of Terminal 2 to her and last year she toured the area on more than one occasion, together with Jesús Esteva (as Secretary of Works and Services), who will be the next head of the SICT.

For the moment, Parga awaits instructions and is responsible for having an airport in the best conditions.

RETURN TO 61 OPERATIONS

The iconic AICM will turn 72 years old next November and in the last decade it has experienced moments of tense relationship with the airlines.

In September 2014, the General Directorate of Civil Aeronautics (DGAC), now the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC) published a declaration of saturation that limited takeoff and landing operations to 61 per hour (at the time, the authority has recognized that 70 operations or more were recorded when weather conditions permitted).

After the post-Covid-19 recovery, in March 2022 the AFAC issued another declaration of terminal saturation, which caused long negotiations with the airlines to avoid complicating air connectivity. Finally, five months later, it was agreed to temporarily reduce from 61 to 52 operations per hour between 07:00 and 22:59, starting with the entry into force of the winter season on October 31.

The last impact on the industry came in August 2023 when capacity was temporarily reduced again to the current 43 per hour. Implicitly was the idea that the AIFA would have greater activity.

Parga recalled that the 43 established operations have remained within the safety margin; However, there are some periods in which they are exceeded “a little” due to the meteorological conditions of other airports that cause delays to the AICM, but the indication of the authority is a priority.

“Yes, we have reduced operations and passengers: 11% and 5%, respectively, which means that more use is being made of non-saturated schedules. Chinese airlines have just reopened operations. They fly at 12:00 at night.

- Do you have requests from airlines to increase frequencies or routes at night?

Not until this moment. We are preparing the slot planning process (takeoff and landing schedules) for the winter of this year. The same airlines, according to their planning, are requesting the slots. When the process closes we will see how much they asked for.

- There was a temporary reduction in slots in 2022 and another last year, can they remove that measure next winter?

Until now we have not received any instructions in this regard, we are at 43 operations per hour, and any change would have to come from the AFAC.

- As things stand, could the authority say, for example, let's go up to 50 or more because the reduction is temporary?

It's right.

- When would be a deadline for you to be notified that the temporary nature can be removed and for companies to make their planning?

Until next month, but if in October the new federal administration gives us some other indication, there is always a way to negotiate and make things transparent, in coordination with the airlines.

The reality is that it is best to do it well in advance to properly market the flights. We know that the current moment is complicated, but we are always respectful of the determinations of the regulatory authority.

THE SAM SHOULD BE A PRIORITY

The director of the AICM, who before taking the position was Director of Operations, is clear that any decision made about the future of the terminal must consider the airport system in central Mexico.

“We can no longer identify the AICM as something isolated. The demand for the service in the metropolitan area must focus on obtaining the greatest competitive advantages also from the AIFA, the Toluca airport and the Cuernavaca airport. We have to plan together,” he explained.

Regarding the possibility that each terminal has a vocation (national, international or mixed operations), he said that this must be analyzed in detail by the corresponding authorities, always for the benefit of the country.