Global Significance

Airlines for America Urges Continued Construction of Mexico City’s International Airport

October 22, 2018

WASHINGTON, October 22, 2018 – Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, today wrote to President-Elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador voicing support for the continued construction of the New Mexico International Airport (NAIM). In the letter, A4A President and CEO Nicholas E. Calio explained why the new airport is necessary to meet the needs of the country’s growing traveling and shipping public.

The letter (also translated in Spanish) read in part:

Construction of the NAIM is vital to Mexico’s aviation development, contributing to future economic growth and generating new jobs and opportunities in the country. Without the new airport, Mexico could lose more than 20 million potential new passengers per year by 2035, according to some studies.

The new airport will drive significant economic value for Mexico and other countries around the world. The construction and completion of NAIM is critical to ensure the continued growth of tourism, trade and revenue that both of our countries enjoy due to robust aviation demand. The airport will continue to boost the Mexican economy and benefit taxpayers through heightened air travel demand, while offering an increase in operational safety through straight and obstacle-free landing and take-off trajectories.

In 2017, 26 U.S. and Mexican airlines transported 7.9 million passengers and 189,000 tons of high-value cargo between Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport and the United States.

A4A joins several industry groups in supporting the continued construction of the new airport. Those groups include: International Air Transport Association (IATA), Cámara Nacional de Aerotransportes (CANAERO), Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA), Air Canada and Air France.