More than two years after losing its top flight safety rating, Mexico is just weeks away from being downgraded to Category 2 by the US Federal Aviation Administration in May 2021 after the US agency identified about thirty deficiencies. The reduction in the assessment wiped out the ability for Mexican airlines to open new routes into US airspace. Mexican authorities confirm that this barrier will open soon. “The technical part has already been clarified, so the diplomatic part must be rushed, that’s all,” said Undersecretary of State for Transport Rogelio Jiménez Pons confidently.
In May 2021, the FAA reported that it had identified several areas of non-compliance with minimum safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations’ technical agency for aviation, in the four-month assessment it conducted for Mexico. A Category 2 classification assumes that the country’s laws or regulations do not have the necessary requirements to monitor the country’s airlines in accordance with international minimum security standards, or that the civil aviation authority is lacking in one or more areas, for example in technical expertise, trained personnel and record keeping, inspection procedures or security troubleshooting.
25 months and 200 observations later, officials at the Department of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation are just awaiting the verdict of the audit, which was presented to the FAA a few weeks ago. According to Jiménez Pons, the package of measures to be solved ranged from training issues to transport medicine. If they return to the top flight, Mexico will no longer share Qualifying 2 with countries like Venezuela, Bangladesh, Thailand, Russia and a diaspora of islands in the Caribbean.
Based on this deterioration, before the end of this six-year term, the Mexican authorities aim to transform the Federal Agency for Civil Aviation (AFAC) and the entity providing navigation services in Mexican airspace (Seneam) into decentralized organizations. Jiménez Pons explains that this management change will allow them more autonomy over their household. “Being an aviation sector dedicated to safety, it depends on technological factors and requires very quick responses,” he explains. The undersecretary clarifies that a major shortage of resources will help Seneam reduce the deficit of 400 air traffic controllers the country is currently suffering from.
Taking stock of the process, Jiménez Pons attributes the delay in restoring air qualifications to factors such as the pandemic, lack of communication between work teams and lack of agility in resolving US observations. The undersecretary also assures that once the shortcomings uncovered by the FAA are addressed, it will be very difficult to lose the top category again in the coming decades. In 2010, during the administration of Felipe Calderón, Mexico was also downgraded by the FAA, but regained Category 1 in just four months.
The next recapture of the highest rating in aviation safety comes after Transport Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s visit to Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA). The US official met with the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, at the airport terminal in Mexico State last week and toured its facilities. Although the results of the binational meeting were not disclosed in detail, the Mexican President described Buttigieg as an “intelligent” and “gentle” person.
New extension for handover of cargo flights to AIFA
At the request of the United States, the López Obrador government has given cargo companies a new deadline to relocate their cargo flights from Mexico City International Airport (AICM) to another airport, one of the most recently proposed alternatives to Felipe Ángeles Airport in the state Mexico. Although the executive order signed last February set July 8 as the maximum date for the move, foreign companies have asked the executive branch for an eight-week extension to comply with the president’s order. Although cargo ships are already in use at AIFA, the federal administration has granted the extension of the term. “There were many procedures for the companies that corresponded to the countries of origin, often there were decisions on external authorizations from the company councils to sign a contract and for this reason this extension was requested,” explains Jiménez Pons.
Originally, the US freighters requested the extension to December 2023, but the executive branch has opted to grant only until next September. Starting this month, all cargo flights will no longer be able to land at Benito Juárez Airport. The government made this decision to relieve the congested capital airport. Companies like Qatar Airways, Lufthansa Cargo, Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, Estafeta Carga Aérea and Air Canada will be some of the companies that will need to find other runways to land. And while there is no mandate for them to go with AIFA, its proximity to Mexico City makes it one of the most viable options.
To date, a dozen cargo flights have landed at the civil-military airport in Zumpango (Mexico State). Unlike the overcrowded terminal at the AICM, one thing remains at the AIFA cargo terminal: Space: It has an area the size of 48 football pitches – the equivalent of 345,000 square meters – a customs office equipped with X-. Blasting machines, loaded vehicle inspection sheets, platforms, 12 taped enclosures and a handful of other facilities for its new tenants.
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