Airlines had room to increase their presence at Mexico City International Airport (AICM) in the last couple of years, but this could be about to change. With a new declaration of saturation, this time in the airport terminal buildings, the bases for assigning landing and take-off times – also known as slots – could be tightened, which would limit airlines to add new routes and frequencies.
The fight for slots in the AICM before the pandemic was already a problem. The entry of new flights and airlines was made difficult due to the lack of time slots, specifically at attractive times, other than at night.
However, the departure from operations of Interjet –which had more than 50,000 slots in the AICM– left a window of opportunity that other airlines did not let go, as was the case of Aeroméxico (whose slots increased by 18% in the winter season of 2021 compared to 2019), Viva Aerobus (which grew by more than double in schedules) and Volaris, with 40% more slots .
But what changes with the new declaration of saturation? In 2014 there was already a warning of saturation in the airfield after the number of maximum operations per hour of the AICM was exceeded, while on this occasion the declaration of saturation is about the maximum number of passengers served in terminals 1 and 2 From the airport.
For this reason, the saturation of Terminal 1 was declared between 5 and 22:59 hours, and of Terminal 2 from 6:00 to 19:59 hours, for which it was instructed, among other actions, that the Schedules Coordinator of the AICM review and, if applicable, modify the general bases for assigning landing and take-off times at airports in saturated conditions.
For Andrés Remis, an expert in the aeronautical and airport area of Santamarina + Steta, this implies that there will be an impact on the AICM slots , since they will not be assigned with the same ease as before.
“What can we expect? That the AICM schedules and itineraries committee review the currently assigned slots , and for the following seasons it can grant them again, or, in response to the resolution, make an internal review to determine that effectively with the current or future slots , the limits of passengers by terminals are not exceeded”, he explains.
Part of the resolution also implies that an official letter be sent to the General Directorate of Navigation Services in the Mexican Air Space (SENEAM) to analyze, and if necessary, modify the AICM’s operational capacity opinion “so that take into account the new airport infrastructure.”
For the Santamarina + Steta specialist, although this is not binding for airlines to compulsorily transfer flights to the airport in Santa Lucía, it is a “natural” reference for the new airport as an alternative to the saturation of the AICM, which will depend on each airline. follow, continue.
“If the [AICM] committee begins to restrict slots and frequencies, there will be significant effects in that regard. I would not be surprised if an airline considers transferring this operation to AIFA, but that will be up to each airline”, concludes Remis.
