THE GHOST OF TEXCOCO

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With the opinion of Héctor Dávila

A good Halloween costume would be that of Texcoco airport because although this project is very dead, its spirit continues to come from beyond to try to scare the politicians who were responsible for burying it.

Directors of international airlines and officials of important organizations, such as the International Air Transport Association (IATA), continue to insist that the walking project of the López Obrador government, centered on a commercial terminal in St. Lucia as part of a Metropolitan Airport System (SAM) ), it will not work and they point out that the cancellation of the New Mexico International Airport (NAIM) will ultimately represent the great misfortune of the loss of a fundamental infrastructure for the development of Mexican aviation, and of course several have hinted that they would not go for anything to operate on ugly Saint Lucia or the misunderstood Toluca, due to multiple technical and commercial reasons.

Even Dr. Andrés Conesa, general director of Aeromexico, ventured to declare during a Forum of airline leaders in Brazil that the SAM, and especially Toluca, would not serve for its business model, referring as proof that currently said Mexican airport is almost empty despite the severe saturation of the Mexico City International Airport (AICM).

Toluca certainly looks like a ghost town, but at its best it reached more than 6 million passengers annually, and I think it was more political and commercial reasons that drove away the clientele, mainly because the AICM continued to accommodate slots with shoehorn for all the airlines, although it is undeniable that its elevation is a difficult challenge for the operation of the longest international flights.

And of course, although the distance with the AICM as a binomial could be drawable, already in a trinomial with Saint Lucia it seems difficult to think that the three airports work well in all aspects, particularly in relation to connections, as well as handling and distribution of cargo and parcels, where a large hub, as promised by the NAIM, would have been ideal.

But of course, the President does not seem to be scared of the occurrences of the Texcoco spectrum and ensures that the airlines will gradually become convinced (or resigning I would say) that their Airport System will be a success, while their Secretary of Communications and Transportation, the engineer Javier Jiménez Espriú (of which there are strong rumors that he is leaving, that even motivated an official denial in writing) justified once again the cancellation of Texcoco in appearance with the Deputies, describing that project as “unfortunate improvisation”, before the incredulous eyes of many who think that the improvised is the plan of Saint Lucia.

The main problem of the government plan is its lack of clarity, although it is true that there have been very beautiful “renders” of how Saint Lucia should look and representatives of different aviation sectors have been invited to show them the progress of the development of airspace control solutions, much of this information is still incomplete and concerns the suspicion that the Army, which many believe should concentrate their efforts on key issues of National Security instead of getting involved in the construction of civil infrastructure, develop the work with secrecy and contradicting all the recommendations of international aeronautical experts, who find the military-style incompatible with the administration of a commercial airport.

But perhaps the most questionable and that most affect the credibility of the government plan is that no one was accused of being responsible for fraudulent and corrupt acts, on which they say the cancellation of the construction of the “pharaonic” air terminal was based in Texcoco.

However, at the vox populi level the debate about airports is not as polarized as one might think, and in a recent survey by El Economista, among people of whom more than 80% have used the plane, the majority (50.7% against 36.9 %, plus 2.4% who did not answer) considered that Santa Lucia is the best option for the country, and 54.1% prefer to continue with that work against 39.9% who would prefer to retake Texcoco and 6% who did not know, so the Government decision has a good level of approval.

Pero me parece que finalmente un gobierno electo legítimamente tiene la facultad de decidir y hacerse responsable de sus decisiones, y aunque la crítica debe ser aguda, cuando ya se le ha señalado con vastedad sigue otorgar el beneficio de la duda y unirse a los esfuerzos para que el País progrese en paz y armonía.

Perhaps it is time for the airline industry to overcome the mourning of the death of NAIM and let it rest in peace, focusing on contributing to the decision that is developed as well as possible and take advantage of whatever results, as has already been seen with a more positive attitude towards the government plan by organizations such as the National Air Transport Chamber (CANAERO), or airlines such as Volaris and Interjet; and as “fear does not go on a donkey”, even in Aeromexico they declared immediately after the harsh opinions expressed by Conesa, that they will continue to respect the acts carried out by the government, whatever their decisions on airport matters, recognizing the work of the Secretariat of Communications and Transportation.

The confrontation is already unnecessary, and Mr. Andrés Manuel López Obrador has a great responsibility in his hands with the decision he has made, one that cannot escape the judgment of history and we can be sure that the complex plot of the airport epic Mexican will unravel itself in a short time. Perhaps, hopefully, Texcoco’s ghost will not appear again …


Regards

Hector Davila

Source: vuela.com.mx

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