AIFA will not be able to take off completely if category 1 of aviation safety is not recovered
This Tuesday, March 21 marks one year since the opening of one of the flagship works of the government of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador: Felipe Angeles Airport. In an interview with Mario Maldonado for El Heraldo Media Group’s Morning News, Angel Dominguez CatzinPresident of the Front for the Defense of National Aviation (FDAN), said that it is complex to assess it since the objective it should have achieved during this first year of operations is not clear .
He pointed out that at times it was announced that he would have 2 million passengers a year, but what he has in a year is 1.3 million passengers, or about 14,500 operations, on the grounds that the country is still downgraded to category 2what you prevented Mexican airlines from opening new routes to and from the United States.
“It’s been a tough environment for a new airport, whether it’s AIFA or any other airport we opened this year, we would most likely see those same numbers,” he said.
He recalled that FDAN had indicated before the inauguration of the Felipe Ángeles that there was an urgent need to recover category 1 aviation safety so that he may have life, but today he remains the same and it is not possible to move forward. For this reason, he added, the targets that have been set will not materialize until Category 1 of the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
AMLO announces new state airline
Before the projects President Andrés Manuel López Obrador create a public airline which would start its services with 10 planes, including the presidential plane, Domínguez Catzin said that it was necessary to specify the type of subsidies it would benefit from and insisted on the urgency of recover category 1 if not, it doesn’t matter how many airlines the Mexican government will open to bring the airport infrastructure to life.
“It must be recognized that this administration has built numerous airport infrastructures or is under construction, but no one will be able to take advantage of it if we don’t have category 1, if there are no clear rules, if there is no state aviation policy, still less if we talk about the famous question of cabotage, where we would provide the future of aviation to who knows what foreign interests,” he said.
He pointed out that the problem with aviation in Mexico is that there are no clear rulesThere is little legal certainty, competition and competitiveness, passenger rights, which makes it difficult to create a state or private airline.
Finally, Domínguez Catzin indicated that a meeting between industry, legislators and the executive is necessary to lay the foundations for this new state airline and many others.
AIFA: its inauguration and its expectations
AIFA It was inaugurated on March 21, 2022 at Santa Lucia Military Air Base Number 1, and a day later, five commercial flights took off and five more arrived. This airport has a capacity of more than 120 operations.
“It is the sum of wills, the sum of efforts that have made this great work possible,” said the president on the day of his inauguration.
The El Heraldo de México team visited the Felipe Ángeles airport a day after its inauguration to find out the transfer time from the newspaper’s offices (Av. Insurgentes Sur, in the office of the mayor of Benito Juárez) to the AIFA, as well as the cost . On this occasion, the taxi ride from the application exceeded 800 pesos and it took more than an hour and 40 minutes to arrive. A year later, another round was made, but the cost dropped to 429 pesos and so did the travel time, since it lasted only one hour and six minutes; however, this time the route went through the Urban highway Servant of the Nation.
Moreover, before the completion of one year of this work, within the framework of the Northern Leaders Summit, President AMLO received the President of the United States, Joe Bidenand the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau.
Relocation of cargo flights
On February 28 of this year, the Cargo flights have started landing at AIFAafter the government issued a decree suspending these operations at Mexico City International Airport (AICM), they will therefore now be carried out by the Felipe Ángeles, which has the capacity to receive more than 440 thousand tons per year.
On the day that the first cargo flight of the DHL company was carried out, the Mexican President assured that in December of this year, AIFA would reach its break-even point in terms of income and operating expenses, which implies that it will be self-sufficient and will start generating profits from January 2024.
In this regard, the director of the AICM, Carlos Velázquez, assured that the transfer of cargo operations to AIFA would not have economic repercussions, but that it would allow the continuation of mixed operations, that is- i.e. those that bring freight in addition to passengers.
“Sharing the load with Felipe Ángeles Airport is going to be very healthy for us,” he said.
For her part, Mexico City Prime Minister Claudia Sheinbaum said having three airports in the Valley of Mexico would help boost the region’s economy and free up the area for freight transportation.
It must be remembered that some cargo airlines spoke out against the decree raised by President López Obrador, since he only gave a deadline of 90 days to relocate their operations, for which they asked for a year to leave the AICM; however, President López Obrador granted only four months.
Source: El Heraldo De Mexico
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