Mexico’s newest airport that «nobody wanted» celebrates its first anniversary

The Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA) in Mexico City celebrated its first anniversary of commercial operations, and the General Directorate of AIFA released the consolidated numbers for the period.

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Located just over 40 kilometers from downtown Mexico City, the AIFA was the alternative proposed by the Lopez Obrador government to the project of the New International Airport of Mexico City in Texcoco.

The inauguration of this new airport terminal aimed to gradually relieve traffic at the Mexico City International Airport (AICM), which was founded as an international airport in 1952 after its facilities were expanded.

Faced with a lack of airline enthusiasm to operate at another airport in Mexico City, which threatened the viability of AIFA, the Mexican government resorted to measures to limit capacity at AICM. The latest of these was the requirement that all cargo operations be moved to AIFA.

AIFA in numbers

During the 2022-2023 period, it hosted a total of 13,398 commercial operations, transporting a total of 1,385,111 million passengers. The revenue from cargo operations and authorized controlled areas amounted to just over 1,419 million Mexican pesos.
The government highlighted that the AIFA has generated 6,000 direct jobs and over 100,000 indirect jobs.

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General or civilian aviation operations began to take center stage as well. Leaders from various countries have visited Mexico City and used the AIFA as their destination airport. This includes the visit of US President Joe Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and the presidents of Colombia, Chile, and Ecuador.

The major Mexican airlines such as Aeroméxico, Volaris, and Viva Aerobus operate at the Felipe Angeles Airport. Additionally, a small handful of international airlines operate there: Conviasa from Caracas, Copa Airlines from Panama, and Arajet from Santo Domingo.

Currently, regular commercial operations range from 25 to 35 flights per day. The airport has the highest weekly connection with the Cancun International Airport, with 37 weekly flights, followed by Monterrey with 29 flights and Guadalajara in third place.

The AIFA passenger terminal has a covered area of 384,000 square meters and 28 boarding gates. It also has 12 remote positions for commercial flights, 10 for cargo operations, and 26 for executive aircraft.