President Claudia Sheinbaum trusted this Friday that an agreement will be reached with the United States to resolve air problems without putting “users at risk”, while at the same time she refused to eliminate the decree that transferred cargo operations from the Mexico City International Airport (AICM) to the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA).
On Tuesday, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) issued the order to revoke 13 routes of Mexican airlines to United States territory, accusing Mexico of violating the terms of the bilateral air transport agreement.
“We do not understand the decision of the United States Department of Transportation, but as always we are going to seek dialogue to resolve it, and not put at risk either the users or the operation of the Mexico City International Airport itself,” Sheinbaum said in his daily press conference at the National Palace.
“We believe that it will be resolved and we are going to do everything to ensure that it is resolved,” he added.
The president highlighted the problems that would entail canceling the 2023 decree that transfers sensitive cargo flights from AICM to AIFA, on the outskirts of the Mexican capital.
“It would be very irresponsible to do so (…) there would be saturation, but we also do not believe that the competition of US airlines has been affected, we do not believe that,” he stated.
Sheinbaum said that he hopes that this situation “does not have a political background or support for any other American company within the framework of what is being defined for Mexico.”
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Sheinbaum will seek to reach agreements with airlines
He also announced that this Friday at noon he will hold a meeting with the representatives of the main Mexican airlines Aeroméxico, Volaris and VivaAerobus, along with the head of the Secretary of the Navy, Raymundo Morales, and the directors of the AICM and the AIFA.
“We are going to listen to the main passenger airlines, which are the main affected (…) to talk together with the airlines and their workers who are affected by this decision,” he said, recalling that the transfer of cargo flights to the AIFA had been “a technical decision, not a political one.”
The decision to revoke 13 Mexican airline routes to US territory, announced by the Secretary of Transportation, Sean Duffy, marks a new episode of tension in the regulatory relations between both countries, which have maintained a stable cooperation framework since 2016.
The measure comes after months of complaints from the US government, which accuses Mexican authorities of hindering competition by withdrawing or reallocating time slots – known as slots – to US airlines at Mexico City International Airport (AICM) and Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), in favor of local companies.
The AICM, in the heart of Mexico City, and the AIFA, on the outskirts, are the two main airports that serve the Mexican capital.
With information from EFE
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