Cargo traffic at Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) decreased in the January-November 2025 period compared to the same period in 2024, while Mexico City International Airport (AICM) continued its positive trend, showing an increase during this time
According to statistics from the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC) , in the first 11 months of last year, AIFA handled 368,404.2 tons compared to 413,223.7 tons in 2024, which meant a decrease of 10.8 percent.
In international cargo handling, AIFA went from 396,932.7 tons to 359,334.6 tons, a year-over-year decrease of 9.5% .
For domestic freight transport, AIFA did not appear in the list of the top 10 airports; however, AFAC published the main domestic air cargo routes.
During the reference period, the Monterrey-Mexico route showed the greatest increase, adding 12,506 tons in 2025, compared to 9,122 tons in 2024, representing an increase of 37.1 percent.
In contrast to AIFA’s cargo traffic figures, AICM continues to grow. From January to November 2025, the capital’s airport handled 230,269.9 tons, 12,319.2 tons more than in the same period of 2024, representing a 5.7 percent increase .
Eva María Muñoz, president of the Mexican Association of Freight Forwarders (Amacarga) , said that this difference is due to the different seasons, where, in addition, there is the arrival of passenger planes that transport merchandise, “smaller parcels”.
“What arrives at the Mexico City International Airport (AICM)? It’s usually smaller cargo, urgent shipments for stores, businesses, and supermarkets. Meanwhile, the heavy cargo for industry arrives in November, and its volume and imports typically decrease after that month. It’s a normal season because the AICM is almost always busy with last-minute arrivals,” he explained to T21.
Meanwhile, Jorge Jiménez Galindo, Business Development Manager at TME , considered that in the event of a return of cargo operations to the AICM, such an action would have mixed effects .
On the one hand, he explained, this airport retains natural competitive advantages such as logistical proximity, shorter access times, mature customs infrastructure, and historical economies of scale. “For operators, whose total operating costs depend more on time than on fees, recovering slots at AICM could increase efficiency and generate immediate appeal.”
“On the other hand, shifting capacity away from AIFA could slow the airport’s consolidation as a cargo hub . The challenge for public policy will be to avoid a ‘communicating vessels’ dynamic, where one airport grows only at the expense of the other. Ideally, the country needs a dual strategy: allowing AICM to recover some of its logistics focus while AIFA matures in efficiency, connectivity, and specialized handling,” he emphasized.
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