The airline Mexican Aviation has taken off again. The President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, inaugurated the company's operations this Tuesday with a commercial flight from Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), in the State of Mexico, to Felipe Carrillo Puerto International Airport in Tulum, Quintana Roo. Mexicana de Aviación is in the hands of the military company Grupo Aeroportuario, Ferroviario, de Servicios Auxiliares y Conexos Olmeca-Maya-Mexica, SA de CV, which manages several trains and airports. The relaunch of Mexicana a few days before the end of the year adds to the series of megaprojects that López Obrador launched in the autumn of his term and that will end in 2024. In December of this year, the President also launched the Mayan Train and then the Interoceanic Train.
López Obrador witnessed the takeoff of Mexicana's first flight, a Boeing 737, from AIFA, the headquarters of the new state airline. The Presidential Office provided a link from AIFA to López Obrador's morning conference at the National Palace. The president has highlighted the airline's rebirth in the hands of the Mexican state as an achievement against privatization. López Obrador has recalled that Mexicana was dissolved by the government of Vicente Fox (2000-2006) and sold to businessman Gastón Azcárraga, who led the company to bankruptcy.
“It was one of those favors that was made for electoral purposes when economic power and political power were being nurtured and nurtured. Gastón Azcárraga supported Fox in the election campaign and when Fox became president, the Mexicana de Aviación was handed over to him, later they bankrupted the company, fired the workers who were already in the government of Felipe Calderón and it was neglected until now that he went back to fly Mexican. “It is the beginning, but the most important thing is that this Mexican airline is saved after acts of corruption and these deliveries of public goods to individuals,” López Obrador said.
Mexicana will offer flights to 20 destinations between major cities and tourist attractions. General Sergio Montaño, director of the airline, indicated that initially 425 tickets to the different destinations that Mexicana will cover were sold at low prices. The official stated that the round-trip flight from AIFA to Tulum was quoted at 1,558 pesos, while with other companies it would cost 2,309 pesos. The flight to Quintana Roo took off this Monday around eight in the morning. “Mr President: The plane is in the air. I allow myself to inform you, on behalf of all of us who make up this airline, that Mexicana de Aviación has resumed its flights,” said General Montaño from the AIFA control tower.
López Obrador praised the start and described Mexicana's return as historic. “We will consolidate this line in the remaining time of our presidency and we are sure that those who will replace us will complete the work of strengthening Mexicana de Aviación.” It is in very good hands, in your hands [el Ejército]who have a lot of experience, who have been dedicated to aviation for years,” he said.
The president has defended that the state-owned company should be in the hands of Sedena, “a strong institution of the Mexican state,” as a measure against privatizations. “That we no longer go back to that very harmful time, which was the neoliberal time, that of the privatization of all these assets that were public and transferred to private individuals, that this ends now, and that it does so little by little, without violating the law Violated.” Framework “As people decide, economic policy continues to change, and we know how to distinguish between private and public.” The President has stated that in order to regain public goods and functions that have been taken away from the state, “a efficient, professional and of course honest management is required and that is why we have taken the decision to put these companies in the hands of a consolidated, strengthened institution. , like Sedena,” he specified.
Defense Minister Luis Cresencio Sandoval stated that Mexicana began operations with five aircraft, three Boeing 737-800s and two Embraer. He specified that in 2024, another five aircraft will be leased to an American company, SAT Holdings, and the possibility of purchasing used and new aircraft will be discussed directly with Boeing. “The objective is to strengthen the company so that it grows and covers the various major tourist attractions of the country, but also serves the parts that are not reached by the airlines and where Mexican society has a need for this means of transport.”, said the military command. “We will prioritize serving these airports so that the airline becomes a driving force for development, and transfer this development to the airports that have little mobility due to the lack of flights to these points,” he added.
Sandoval added that the Mexican state airline will also be strengthened in terms of administrative staff and pilots. In fact, he has stated that the relaunch involved hiring workers who had worked before the airline's bankruptcy. “There are people who were hired by the old airline who had the relevant skills. They all went through a selection process and were hired. There were also people from Aeromar there. Of course, we cannot waste the great experience of the people who worked,” he said.
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