The CEO of Volaris , Enrique Beltranena, did not stay out of the maneuver that one of the airline’s pilots carried out over the weekend to avoid colliding with another plane at the Mexico City International Airport ( AICM ). The also founder of the airline assured that the pilots are trained for this type of eventuality and requested an investigation to clarify the incident .
The Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) reported this Monday that the aircraft involved in the incident were an Airbus A320 operated by Volaris that was going to take off from the AICM bound for Guatemala; while another Airbus A320 of the same airline was about to enter the runway from Mazatlán, Sinaloa. Both movements had been endorsed by the air traffic controller.
The Volaris incident at the AICM
The Volaris plane that was flying had to make a maneuver to avoid falling on top of the plane that was on the ground. The incident was captured in a video that went viral on social media over the weekend.
“Thanks to the training of our pilots and their impeccable monitoring of the processes, no passenger or crew member was at risk during the situation reported at the AICM on the night of May 7,” Beltranena wrote on his Twitter account.
The Air Traffic Controllers Union has warned that there are deficiencies in the redesign of the airspace due to the entry into operation of the Felipe Ángeles International Airport. The union assured that on multiple occasions it has expressed the problems to different government agencies and officials, such as the director of SENEAM, Victor Manuel Hernández , but they have not been listened to.
According to some pilots, these types of maneuvers have become more frequent in the airspace of the Valley of Mexico.
“Teams, crews and alert systems prepare daily to face similar situations that do not depend on airlines, and that can happen in aviation,” Beltranena said on his Twitter.
Amid the accusations that pilots and air traffic controllers have made for their disregard of incident alerts in the Valley of Mexico, the general director of Navigation Services in the Mexican Air Space (SENEAM)
The CEO of Volaris said that he requested an investigation, both internally and from the aeronautical authorities, to settle the incident. “At Volaris we always operate in strict adherence to procedures and with safety as a priority,” he concluded.
