AICM served 624 thousand fewer passengers in January due to cuts in operations

The Mexico City International Airport (AICM) had a decrease of 624,021 passengers in the first quarter of the year, mainly due to the second cut in operations that authorities applied starting last January, by establishing from 52 to 43 takeoffs and national landings per hour to counteract air saturation.

Updated figures from the air terminal indicate that from January to March it served 11 million 64 thousand 425 national and international users, while in that same period of the previous year it transported 11 million 688 thousand 639 passengers, that is, there was a reduction of less 5.3 percentage points.

Airport statistics indicate that the decrease in passengers on domestic flights was minus 12.1 percent, going from 7 million 862 thousand 098 in the first quarter of 2023 to 6 million 908 thousand 410 in the same period of this year.

In January, the AICM had a decrease of 17.7 percent in domestic flights and 8.1 in international flights, compared to the same month in 2023 and the number of users was also reduced. From 3 million 996 thousand 992 in January 2023, it registered 3 million 794 thousand 940, that is, 202 thousand 52 fewer travelers.

The airport, which will turn 72 years old, was designed to transport 32 million passengers, but last year it served 48 million 415 thousand 693 travelers, 4.7 percent more than in 2022, and the approximately 19 national and international airlines carried out more than 363 1,271 commercial and general operations.

In August of last year, the resolution declaring saturation of the country’s most important airport was published in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF). The document indicated that, according to the study, the maximum number of passengers that can be optimally served per hour in each terminal building was exceeded on more than twenty occasions a year.

Likewise, in the Seneam Study (Navigation Services in the Mexican Airspace), of August 22, it warns that the maximum number of optimal operations that can be attended per hour is 43. This reduction in operations would only apply to domestic flights, international They continue with the assigned slots (landing and takeoff times).