Less than eight months before the start of the 2026 Soccer World Cup involving Mexico, the United States and Canada, The US Department of Transportation revoked 13 current or planned routes of Mexican airlines to the northern neighbor, after denouncing an alleged non-compliance by Mexico with respect to the 2015 air transport agreement, announced the US Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy.
Mexico “illegally canceled and frozen flights of a US airline for three years without consequences,” Duffy said in a statement issuing the order.
This order suspends all combined services (cargo and passengers) between the United States and Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) and freezes any new or expanded routes by Mexican airlines from Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport (AICM).
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Affected flights include Aeroméxico routes between AIFA and Houston and McAllen, Volaris service between Mexico and Newark, and multiple Viva Aerobus flights from AIFA to several major US cities.including Austin, New York, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and Orlando. Aeroméxico flights between AICM and San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Volaris between Ciudad Juárez and Newark, New Jersey, will also be affected.
Among the proposed routes affected are Viva Aerobus between AIFA and Austin, New York, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami and Orlando.
Duffy proposes to prohibit Mexican passenger airlines from transporting cargo between Ciudad Juárez and the United States, which would come into force in about three months if it is definitively approved.
“Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg were too weak to stand up to Mexico when they trampled our bilateral aviation agreement,” Duffy stressed in reference to the former US president and his Secretary of Transportation.
“These agreements are binding and, like our trade agreements, President Trump will put America first and enforce them”insisted on the 2015 agreement.
He denounced the restrictions imposed on US airline slots and the forced transfers of all cargo operations from 2022. “Until Mexico stops playing games and fulfills its commitments, we will continue to hold it accountable… No country should be able to take advantage of our airlines, our market and our passengers without suffering the consequences,” he added.
Donald Trump’s administration framed the decision as part of a broader initiative to enforce international aviation agreements and ensure “fair and pro-competitive” markets.
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The conflict with Mexican airlines is due to two main factors: the first is the presidential decree issued during the government of Andrés Manuel López Obradorin February 2023, which banned all cargo operations at AICM, forcing the three US airlines operating cargo services at that airport to cease operations and move to AIFA by September 1, 2023.
For the US Department of Transportation, this was an anti-competitive decision that generated a critical imbalance, by explicitly exempting airlines that provided freight transport services through combined operations, that is, goods transported in the hold of passenger aircraft. This allowed mixed airlines to retain important “proximity and infrastructure advantages” offered by the AICM. Instead, all-cargo airlines were forced to incur additional costs and other challenges associated with moving to AIFA.
The second front of disagreement is the takeoff and landing time slots at the AICM.
In August 2022, the AICM slot coordinator confiscated the historical slots of three US airlines (American, Delta and United), and three Mexican airlines (Aeroméxico, Viva Aerobus and Volaris), under the argument of temporarily reducing operations from 61 to 52 per hour to allow construction projects to be carried out.
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The order affects routes of three Mexican airports and three airlines. All combined services between the United States and Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) are also suspended.
Aeroméxico: AIFA-Houston.
Aeroméxico: AIFA-McAllen.
Aeroméxico: AICM-San Juan de Puerto Rico.
Volaris: AICM-Newark.
Volaris: Ciudad Juárez-Newark Airport.
Viva Aerobus: AIFA-Austin.
Viva Aerobus: AIFA-New York.
Viva Aerobus: AIFA-Chicago.
Viva Aerobus: AIFA-Dallas.
Viva Aerobus: AIFA-Denver.
Viva Aerobus: Aifa-Hauton, Texas.
Viva Aerobus: AIFA-Los Angeles, California.
Viva Aerobus: AIFA-Miami and Orlando, Florida.
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The post Flights: These would be the destinations affected after the revocation of 13 Mexican airline routes to the United States appeared first on Veritas News.
