TULUM, Mexico – In a bold move towards enhancing the nation’s air travel infrastructure, Miguel Torruco Marqués, Secretary of Tourism, has unveiled ambitious plans that are set to reshape the skies above Mexico. Confirming a major paradigm shift, Torruco Marqués announced that both the Chetumal and Tulum airports will soon fall under the operational purview of the Mexican State airline, a venture that is poised to take flight and traverse the Mexican skies in the near future.
Making this groundbreaking revelation during the 65th Anniversary General Assembly of the Association of Mexican Aviator Pilots (ASPA), Torruco Marqués unveiled the airline’s governance structure, which will be overseen by the Mexican Government through the collective efforts of Grupo Aeroportuario Ferroviario, Servicios Auxiliares, and Conexos Olmeca-Maya-Mexica.
The airline is poised to manage a diverse range of airports, including AIFA in the State of Mexico, Palenque in Chiapas, Chetumal and Tulum in Quintana Roo, Campeche, Ciudad Victoria in Tamaulipas, Nogales in Sonora, Uruapan in Michoacán, Apodaca in Nuevo León, Puebla, and Ciudad Ixtepec in Oaxaca. Emphasizing the pivotal role of air connectivity in boosting productivity and enhancing tourism competitiveness in today’s increasingly globalized world, Torruco Marqués highlighted how this initiative will not only save time but also bring communities and cultures closer together. He underscored that the aviation industry is an indispensable catalyst for national growth and development, as was evident during the pandemic. While international flights to the country remained largely unrestricted and combined with robust biosafety protocols and vaccination efforts, the tourism sector witnessed only a 46% decline, in stark contrast to the global slump of 73%.
Casting an eye towards the recent past, Torruco Marqués celebrated the robust performance of Mexico’s national aviation sector in 2022. The nation played host to an impressive influx of 183,916 international flights, carrying a staggering 25,266,000 passengers, a notable 3.3% surge compared to 2019. The first half of 2023 continued this upward trajectory, as 97,039 international flights took to the skies, ferrying 13,821,000 passengers, an impressive 11% increase over the same period in 2019. The period from 2019 to 2023 also witnessed the establishment of 332 new international air routes, contributing to an economic windfall that surpasses the $750 million mark.
Torruco Marqués underscored the formidable aviation infrastructure that Mexico boasts, featuring a network of 78 airports, comprising 66 international and 12 domestic terminals. These airports collectively facilitate an extensive web of 1,536 origin-destination routes, with a remarkable 1,005 routes connecting Mexico with 46 other nations.
This visionary initiative sets the stage for a new era of Mexican aviation, one that redefines connectivity, transforms tourism, and propels the nation into the forefront of the global aviation landscape.
