Volaris and VivaAerobus with 85% of flights carried out outside official hours

Mexico City. The low-cost airlines Volaris and VivaAerobus recorded 85 percent of the irregular flights that took place outside the official schedule at the Mexico City International Airport (AICM).

According to the most recent figures from the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC), in January of this year of the 236 flights out of time, 144 of Vivaerobús and 65 of Volaris were operated “intentionally at schedules significantly different from those assigned by the airport administrator in accordance with the determination of the Delay Subcommittee.”

The report indicates that these movements of improper use of landing and takeoff times of the airlines “cause effects on the efficiency of the operation and contributing to the saturation of the “Benito Juárez” International Airport in Mexico City.”

In the first month of the year, the air terminal recorded 27,273 operations; That is to say, one in every 100 flights took off outside of schedule.

In April 2023, AICM authorities announced that they would not authorize flights to airlines that do not respect their established schedule, in a tightening of measures to guarantee the quality and safety of operations.

The measure was due to the fact that some air carriers used to carry out operations that do not have a landing or takeoff time assigned by the airport administrator, which, they argued at the time, affects the proper functioning of the terminal, both in terms of flight safety and as in delays and cancellations.

But not only that, the AICM argued at the time that an irregular movement of this type causes the saturation of fuel dispatch services, provisioning, ramp service and, on some occasions, immigration and customs duties.

This year, the resolution issued by the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC) came into force, establishing the reduction from 52 to 43 takeoff and landing operations per hour at the AICM, the main gateway to the country’s capital for national and international visitors. foreigners, as well as a strategic point for business and connectivity with the rest of the world.

This resolution establishes that a maximum of 43 landing and takeoff operations per hour can be handled at the AICM, in accordance with the airspace conditions stipulated by Navigation Services in Mexican Air Space (SENEAM).