The U.S. government confirmed that any airline from that country will resume or begin cargo flights to Mexico City International Airport (AICM) , as part of the commitments that the Mexican federal administration acquired to comply with the bilateral air agreement.
According to a document from the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) , since May 1, this agency and the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) concluded a Memorandum of Consultation (MOC) that detailed the actions necessary to restore the full implementation of the agreement.
“He confirmed that any US airline that wishes to resume or begin operating full cargo services at AICM is eligible to receive slots (takeoff and landing times),” he explained.
Similarly, the document, dated October 16, indicated that the SICT committed to returning all slots at said airport that were confiscated from the combined US airlines and to aligning its slot allocation practices , capacity declarations, and consultation with users of said infrastructure with international best practices.
Since May of this year, the DOT has been closely monitoring efforts to meet its MOC commitments. Currently, the Mexican government has returned many of the slots that had been confiscated from the combined U.S. airlines. Furthermore, the SICT has committed to returning the remaining slots when the U.S. airlines are ready to resume the flights they had to suspend.
These actions are being taken because the Mexican government conducted a consultation with all users of the Mexico City International Airport (AICM) regarding the capacity declaration, based on a capacity analysis for the airport. According to the SICT (Secretariat of Communications and Transportation), all users had the opportunity to provide their input.
“Given these developments, we have determined that the actions taken by Mexico to date sufficiently address the Department’s concerns,” he said.
On October 16, the SICT reported that the DOT decided to revoke the restrictions that prevented Mexican airlines from opening new flights from the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) and the AICM to the United States, thus reopening the possibility of developing routes and frequencies to and from the US market.
The measure revokes Order 213-2, through which the DOT had restricted existing, proposed and future operations of Mexican carriers.
The National Chamber of Air Transport (Canaero) celebrated the measure, which it considered ” a relevant step to provide greater certainty to the industry and advance with actions that favor the development of passenger and cargo services, for the benefit of users, tourism, trade and the economic integration of both nations.”
For its part, Volaris highlighted that this will allow it to advance in the connectivity of routes between the Mexico City Metropolitan Area and destinations in the United States.
Viva stated that it will begin evaluating possible routes “considering the operational conditions” .
It is worth remembering that in February 2023, the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador ordered, by presidential decree, the transfer of cargo airlines to AIFA, with the argument of decongesting air traffic at AICM and improving passenger safety.
Meanwhile, on July 19, 2025, the U.S. government announced it would take various measures against Mexico for canceling flight schedules for U.S. airlines and forcing cargo carriers to relocate their operations away from Mexico City International Airport (AICM). On October 28, 2025, the United States canceled 13 routes scheduled by Mexican airlines for passenger and cargo transport to the U.S. from AICM and AIFA, due to Mexico’s failure to comply with the Air Transport Agreement signed in 2015.
Almost a year after that measure, the Department of Transportation of the northern neighbor lifted, on October 16, the restrictions that prevented Mexican airlines from making new flights to that country from both Mexican airports.
According to data from the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC) , US airlines in regular service transported 81,837.84 tons in the period January-August 2026 , reflecting the relevance of this measure.
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