The first commercial flight from Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) took off at 6:30 am bound for Villahermosa, Tabasco, by Aeroméxico. Flight AM890 was operated on an Embraer 190.
Aeroméxico will offer 14 weekly flights to the cities of Mérida and Villahermosa in the AIFA , in addition to the offer of these destinations from the Mexico City International Airport (AICM).
The airline reported in a statement that the AIFA represents an opportunity for its operations. He highlighted that it has a connectivity network made up of 86 national and international routes and more than 460 daily flights.
“We are very proud to be part of such an important event in the history of national aviation, such as the expansion of the airport infrastructure in the center of the country with the inauguration of AIFA. This allows us to continue providing more and better connectivity options to our customers in the Metropolitan Area and Mexico”, commented José Zapata, the company’s Vice President of Sales in Mexico.
The flight landed at 7:50 am at the Carlos Rovirosa Pérez International Airport in Villahermosa, Tabasco. The duration of the trip was 55 minutes.
Three runways and 125 takeoff and landing positions
Gustavo Vallejo, general in charge of the group of engineers from Santa Lucía in charge of building the AIFA, said during his speech at the morning conference that the new work has three runways, two of them for simultaneous air operations in conditions of visibility.
“The airport allows the landing of any aircraft, from large 747 freighters to double-decker Airbus A380s,” Vallejo explained. “Any aircraft can operate under any visibility condition at this complex,” he added.
The new Felipe Ángeles airport has 125 aircraft positions, both fixed-wing and rotary. Of these, 45 positions are intended for the takeoff and landing of commercial aircraft: there are 28 platform positions with contact, that is, the planes are parked perpendicular to the axis of the terminal and the cabins are connected to them so that passengers get off directly to the terminal. In addition, there are five semi-contact positions for low- cost airlines “that don’t want to pay the airport operator for so many services,” Vallejo said.
There will also be a platform for remote positions with 12 for commercial aircraft.
“But there are more business models,” said Vallejo, who explained that there is another international cargo platform with 11 positions for cargo planes, in addition to another 28 positions for executive aircraft.
There is also a commercial helicopter terminal with facilities for 26 propeller aircraft and its own runway.
2.4 million passengers in 2022
In the morning conference, Isidoro Pastor Román, general director of AIFA, reported that by the end of 2022 the new airport complex is expected to reach 2.4 million passengers and by 2023 around 5 million.
He explained that the airlines that operate in Mexico City and that want to expand their operations will have the option of implementing flights at the AIFA or at the Toluca Airport. Regarding flights to and from the United States, he stressed that they will begin operating in the second half of 2022.
