The measures announced by the U.S. government regarding air travel would affect the movement of cargo in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, perishables, electronics, auto parts, and fashion .
“It will primarily affect certain sectors where air cargo is required for immediate needs , and that’s where it will hit us hard,” emphasized Eva María Muñoz , president of the Mexican Association of Freight Forwarders (Amacarga) .
In an interview with T21, he explained that these sectors are the ones that use air transport the most, and that the impact of freight prices is not as great due to the quality and cost of the product.
It is worth remembering that on July 19, the United States government, through the Department of Transportation (DOT) , announced a series of measures against Mexico for alleged non-compliance with the Air Transport Agreement signed in 2015 and its continued anti-competitive behavior since 2022.
This follows the reduction in operations at Mexico City International Airport (AICM) and the transfer of cargo to Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) , a situation that has affected U.S. airlines, according to the DOT.
Among the measures imposed as part of the America First strategy, it requested that airlines Aeroméxico , Volaris , Viva Aerobus , Estafeta , mas Carga , Awesome Cargo, among others, send their current itineraries for combined and exclusive cargo services until July 29 for authorization .
This measure was complied with by Mexican cargo companies, one of them confirmed to this media outlet, in the context of the meetings that the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation (SICT) has initiated with the country’s airline industry.
Muñoz said these restrictions will likely increase freight costs , although he ruled out alternative routes because they would be more expensive and would slow down travel times. He considered that airlines would need adequate infrastructure to move cargo, and it would also depend on the volume of goods being diverted.
“It would be a matter of conducting a thorough study. Donald Trump, president of the United States, is not only attacking Mexico, but has also announced his intention to increase taxes and airfares to any part of Central and South America by 200%. If this increases, it would be a further blow,” he explained.
The president of Amacarga clarified that so far, ” no cargo company has complained about having switched to AIFA , so much so that cargo has increased by 7% since 2024, 600,000 tons have been moved, and I see that the airlines are working happily; we know that AICM was saturated and that it continues to be, there aren’t many opportunities.”
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