Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA) announced that over the next five years it will allocate resources to improve its fuel distribution infrastructure, in addition to participating in other businesses such as Mexicana’s MRO and biofuels .

“Participate in a partnership for the acquisition and operation of Mexicana’s aircraft maintenance base (MRO), in order to contribute to the connectivity and development of the aeronautical sector in our country,” the organization indicated, without giving further details, in its 2025-2030 Institutional Program , released to the National Commission  for Regulatory Improvement ( Conamer) .

The above, he explained, is part of his new goals to enter strategic areas of air transportation by providing specialized services, advice, and technical consulting with the goal of strengthening the aviation sector.

Likewise, it announced that it will invest in priority infrastructure, such as new fuel stations and expanding the capacity of others . It will also renew its specialized equipment to provide highly qualified service through sustainable, efficient, and safe operations that comply with international standards.

“In this way, ASA will maintain its leadership in the aviation fuel market, helping to ensure that the benefits of progress are distributed more equitably throughout the country. It will also contribute to closing regional development gaps, guaranteeing quality services, and strengthening national energy security,” he stated.

To this end, it will increase the storage capacity of fuel stations in Oaxaca, Querétaro, Ciudad Juárez, and the Bajío region, in addition to building a tanker truck shuttle in polygon 2 of Mexico City International Airport (AICM) .

It will also complete the modernization of the infrastructure of the fuel station storage system in Cancún, the construction of new fuel stations in San José del Cabo, Tepic, and Puerto Escondido, the replacement of the turbo-sino pipeline at Terminal 1 of the AICM, and the renewal of the supply vehicle fleet.

Regarding sustainable aviation fuels , ASA will promote the development of infrastructure for storage and blending, with the construction of two bioturbosine centers in Mexico City and Cancun .

The agency noted that starting in 2027, eight Mexican airline operators must monitor, report, verify, and offset their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and net-zero emissions must be achieved by 2050 .

“Failure to comply with these agreements will continue to increase greenhouse gas emissions, reduce the ability to attract investment and tourism, and Mexico will lose competitiveness compared to countries with advanced sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) policies,” he stated.

He asserted that the lack of this type of fuel could limit the operations of international airlines in the country , in addition to putting Mexican airlines at a disadvantage compared to those that already use it.

In the case of specialized aeronautical personnel and in light of the deficiencies in training and certification, the Ministry will seek to create educational options by strengthening its International Training Center (CIIASA) and creating the Division of University and Postgraduate Studies.

“(It) contemplates the training of 150,000 professionals annually in strategic sectors, with the conviction that the country has the talent, capacity, and resources to consolidate itself as one of the most dynamic economies in the world,” he said.

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Latin America has the potential to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), however, barriers to growth remain, such as availability, cost, and a lack of public policies .

David Ortiz, Senior Fuel Manager at Aeroméxico , stated that Latin America has significant potential for biofuel development due to its wealth of natural resources and raw materials for its production.

He indicated that Brazil already has experience with ethanol production and the use of biofuels, while Mexico and Colombia are using technologies to generate its production.

“Our advantage as a Latin American country, as a Mexican country, is the availability of raw materials. The only challenge is being able to advance the regulatory and economic aspects that drive the projects. It’s a multidisciplinary work process, involving all ministries, associations, and industry, because otherwise, it won’t be a successful project,” he said during the Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) Outlook webinar in Mexico.

The specialist emphasized the need for incentives for the development of the SAF in order to secure investment.

Meanwhile, Diego Martínez del Río, Corporate Sustainability Manager at LATAM Airlines , said that one of the barriers to SAF is its high price , as this fuel represents between 30% and 40% of the cost structure.

In this regard, he commented that among the actions they are taking to remove these barriers is accessing scientific information for the creation of public policies, such as the study, carried out in conjunction with industry participants, to decarbonize the industry, specifically in six countries in the region, including Mexico.

“The study identified that, without a doubt, the country best suited to producing SAF in our region is Brazil, for a combination of different reasons. First, it has abundant biomass production capacity and a very mature biofuels industry. They have been producing biofuels successfully for over 40 years, and they have the raw materials and the know-how,” he emphasized.

Along these lines, he noted that Mexico has a very broad range of biomass resources, but it still lacks the experience to do so. “Beyond the public policies currently underway, what Mexico and the region in general need is evidence-based public policies, not necessarily rushing out and trying to do what Europe or the United States is doing.

He considered that the country needs more in-depth studies on the raw material , although the opportunity lies in the sugarcane industry for the generation of first- and second-generation SAF based on ethanol.

For his part, Mauricio Arellano, Senior Manager, Infrastructure & Airport Services at Viva Aerobus , indicated that in Mexico it is necessary to strengthen the regulatory framework, which will allow both socially and economically to generate strengths for meeting the 2050 goals in the use of SAF.

“In the country, demand is around five billion liters; we hope to become the second largest consumer of jet fuel,” he explained.

Diana Olivares, second vice president of the National Chamber of Air Transport (Canaero) , said that the organization is working on a roadmap that is “ad hoc” to the region and costs.

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Given the need for an energy transition and the pursuit of energy security, it has been argued that Mexico’s future holds an emerging market for the development and use of less polluting electric fuels.

These fuels, also known as e-fuels, are produced from renewable energy sources and, in many cases, can represent an innovative solution for reducing carbon emissions in sectors that are more difficult to achieve direct electrification, such as aviation and maritime transport.

Honeywell emphasized in a statement that the future implementation of these alternatives would not only boost the country’s competitiveness in the energy sector, but could also strengthen its commitment to environmental protection and international cooperation for a cleaner and more sustainable future, as their combustion is climate-neutral.

Especially considering that the CO2 they emit comes from particles already in the atmosphere and not from hydrocarbons extracted from the ground, as in the production of renewable aviation fuel (SAF) , which is closely tied to the availability of sustainable raw materials and even to current competitive costs that impact the future.

In 2023, the aviation industry was responsible for 2.5% of global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions , according to the International Energy Agency . This highlights the potential benefits of introducing innovations like SAF to forge a safer and more sustainable future.

“The demand for and use of SAF as an alternative fuel is growing in other Latin American countries. For example, Honeywell holds more than 50 licenses for renewable fuel technologies around the world. Specifically in Latin America, where our company provides technology for SAF development, together with Embraer, we announced successful tests with 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), marking the first flight exclusively using emission-free technologies in this region. The test demonstrated that the aircraft’s engine functioned perfectly, dispelling any doubts that the fuel would be inferior to its petroleum-based version,” said Leon Melli, Director of Sales for Honeywell Energy & Sustainability Solutions for Latin America .

In Mexico, the government is currently working on developing a pilot blending plant project with the ultimate goal of beginning to produce sustainable aviation fuels by 2030 to meet the sector’s current and future needs and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

For their part, Mexican airlines have independently taken the initiative to meet emissions reduction targets , facing the challenge of a lack of SAF production and refining plants.

Honeywell, an integrated operating company that provides various services, is aligned with the energy transition and is working to continue bringing to Mexico all the advances of its Honeywell UOP eFining technology , which converts captured CO2 from the atmosphere and low-emission hydrogen into renewable aviation fuel.

E-fuels have the potential to significantly reduce aviation emissions . Renewable energy sources drive the conversion of CO2 and hydrogen into liquid e-fuels that are sustainable, high-performance, and can be implemented in existing aircraft without requiring major engine or infrastructure modifications.

If Mexico invests in technologies that enable the production of renewable fuels from a wider variety of raw materials in the future, as well as government policies and incentives, flights can be made to use at least 50% sustainable fuels.

Honeywell has already made significant progress in this area in other countries, such as the United States. United Airlines operated the first 100% SAF-powered passenger flight from Chicago to Washington, DC, using turbine fuel produced with Honeywell’s Ecofining technology.

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Union Pacific has begun planning its participation in the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) distribution market. The US railroad is analyzing this project where historically fuel distribution has been through pipelines or motor transportation, however, this new scheme would mean lower costs and an improvement in the current supply chain.

Humberto Vargas, vice president of the railway in Mexico, explains in an interview with T21 that there is currently no infrastructure dedicated to the supply of biofuel, and that is where the company seeks to be the pioneer and move a large quantity of this product.

 “The railway is quite sustainable with the environment, these are the benefits and advantages of the network to move the SAF. We are beginning to develop the initiative with some producers, having conversations about the access they can have to UP, where they can locate their production plants. It is a very nascent market, but the conversations we have are more than anything about them being able to access the network that we have and from there they can set up their plant installation in a convenient location that allows them to have an efficient supply chain and that it is connected to the airports where they have a commitment to use it,” he says.

More than 35 billion gallons of SAF will be produced in the United States in the next three decades alone , as part of a government program, called the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge , that is designed to help airlines decarbonize.

It is worth remembering that through the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) governments have committed to reducing, through the use of SAF, carbon emissions from international aviation by 5% in 2030. To achieve this goal, around 27% of all renewable fuel production capacity planned in 2030 should be of this type.

Vargas assures that the railway, in cases where it is an alternative that meets the needs of SAF producers and consumers, will develop options for an efficient supply chain.

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