DOT Lifts Ban on New Mexican Airline Routes From Mexico City's Two Airports
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has lifted restrictions that prevented Mexican airlines from launching new flights to the United States from two international airports in Mexico City, Mexico's foreign affairs ministry and its Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) said in a joint statement on Friday, October 16, according to Reuters. The decision opens the possibility of new routes to the U.S. from Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA) and Benito Juarez International Airport (MEX). DOT had not issued its own press release on the move as of publication, and Reuters said the department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The dispute stems from Mexico's compliance with the 2015 U.S.-Mexico Air Transport Agreement. In a May 5 statement, DOT said Mexico had been out of compliance since 2022, when it rescinded U.S. passenger carriers' slots at Mexico City and forced U.S. all-cargo carriers to relocate out of MEX. In response, DOT slashed 13 Mexican carrier routes to the U.S., froze growth of Mexican combination services at MEX, and barred Mexican passenger airlines from carrying belly cargo between MEX and the United States.
In May, after multiple rounds of consultations, the two sides reached a preliminary understanding (Memorandum of Consultations) under which Mexico committed to a capacity-declaration process following international best practice, fair and transparent slot access for U.S. carriers at MEX, and slot-policy reforms. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said at the time that the restrictions on Mexican carriers would remain in place until Mexico's promises turned into action. The lifting announced Friday covers the ban on new routes; the status of the other countermeasures remains subject to DOT's formal orders. (GSM, based on Reuters reporting; background from U.S. Department of Transportation statements)
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 资料图：墨西哥城贝尼托·胡亚雷斯国际机场停机坪上的一架墨西哥航空飞机。ProtoplasmaKid 摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，取自维基共享资源。File photo: An Aeromexico aircraft on the apron at Benito Juarez International Airport in Mexico City. By ProtoplasmaKid, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
