Panama, Houston, and Dallas will take advantage of the limitations in which our country will remain, they say.
Geneva, Switzerland. The International Air Transport Association (IATA for its acronym in English) said that the cancellation of the New International Airport of Mexico City (NAICM) will restrict connectivity from other points to Mexico and to Latin America , since airlines that want to operate in our country will be limited because it will be “extremely complex” for passengers to connect at two airports and therefore airlines will have to make their own decisions.
“Mexico City is the second most important economy for the region, it is a fundamental axis for transshipment and connections, it will be a serious problem. Many passengers connect there but now they will go to Miami, Houston, Dallas and avoid going to Mexico. Connection centers such as Panama and the United States will take advantage of such limitations, “said Peter Cerdá, IATA’s regional vice president for the Americas.
At the same time, the executive expressed his concern because they still do not have a clear definition of how the operations system will work between the three airports ( AICM, Toluca and Santa Lucía Military Air Base ), proposed by the government of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, although he clarified that they have a fairly open communication with the newcomer cabinet.
“We have to know and evaluate the profitability of the project so that the airlines take decisions, it is said that it will be ready in the next three years, although it seems very ambitious and it is not yet clear how it will be carried out; for now, we are in the best disposition to work with the authorities to get the maximum efficiency from the current airport, “he said.
As on previous occasions, Cerdá reiterated that only by announcing the cancellation of the Texcoco project will the Government have an impact of approximately 5,000 million dollars, against the 13,000 million budget for construction.
Summit announced in Mexico
During the annual meeting with media held in Geneva, the executive announced that on February 28, 2019, IATA will hold an aviation summit with airline executives to discuss the future of Mexican aviation. Anticipated that the agency will present the economic impact that this decision will have for Mexico and the region.
“We invite the different Secretariats and officials so that the Mexican Government has a prominent role in this meeting. We are seriously concerned about the future of the Mexican airline industry due to its lack of infrastructure, capacity and airspace saturation. We do not believe that this problem can be effectively managed, “he warned.
On the other hand, he called for avoiding comparisons with markets that, although they have 3 airports, are totally different to Mexico, such as New York and London.
“They are very different cities in relation to their economic, political and transportation situation. At the operational level, Mexico City has a very mountainous orography, while London and NY have airports at sea level, without obstacles, besides that the operational load is much lower, and have much more advanced air traffic systems ” , he concluded.
Source: El Economista
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