Mexico City International Airport
Mexico City International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México or AICM), also called Benito Juárez International Airport (IATA: MEX, ICAO: MMMX) is a commercial airport that serves Mexico City, the capital of Mexico. It is Mexico's and Latin America's busiest. Although this was not its official name for several decades, it was formally named after the 19th century president Benito Juárez in 2006, and is Mexico's main international and domestic gateway. In recent years Toluca airport has become a major alternate airport.
This hot and high airport offers direct flights to more than 100 destinations worldwide. In 2009, the airport served 24,243,056 passengers, a decrease of 7.5% compared with 2008, who received 26,210,217. This modest decline was mainly due to the global financial crisis and the outbreak of influenza. In optimal conditions, and with the current renovations and expansion projects completed, the Benito Juárez airport will be able to handle up to 32 million passengers per year.[3]. It provides non-stop services from Mexico City to North America, Central America and Caribbean, South America, Europe and Asia.
As the main hub for Mexico's largest airline Aeroméxico and a secondary hub for its subsidiary Aeroméxico Connect, the airport has become a SkyTeam hub. In addition, the airport is a Oneworld hub, Mexicana and its subsidiary MexicanaClick being part of this alliance.
AICM is Latin America's busiest airport.[4] The airport houses a wide variety of lodging options for its passengers, including hotels inside Terminal 1 (the Hilton Hotel, the Camino Real, and the Fiesta Inn), also a NH Hotel at Terminal 2.
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History
The airport first opened as Balbuena Military Airport. The first landing was on November 5, 1928 and regular service started a year later, but was officially inaugurated on May 15, 1931. Its first international route was to Los Angeles International Airport operated by Mexicana. President Miguel Aleman opened the terminal in 1952, thus turning the airport into a civilian one. In 1980, the terminal was expanded to double its capacity, using a single large terminal rather than multiple terminals as in other airports. Ten years later in 1990, the mixed domestic/international gates were separated to increase the terminal's functionality, along with the separation of domestic and international check-in halls.
Terminal 2 exteriorIn 2001, the east wing of the terminal was opened as an international final call waiting area and was mainly used by SkyTeam members. Former president Vicente Fox launched a program called Expansion of Mexico City Airport to its Maximum Capacity in 2002 to increase the airport's capabilities. The whole terminal was expanded and upgraded with new check-in halls, 13 more baggage claim belts, the division of the terminal into Departures and Arrivals floors, construction of several new taxiways and a whole new terminal opposite of the current one, thus breaking the single terminal concept. The project was started with an initial investment of $200,000,000 MXP. Nevertheless, its final cost was $800,000,000 MXP. The original quasi-Terminal 2, which only housed Aeromar's operations in and out the airport was demolished, and the new Terminal 2 was built in less than two years.
On November 15, 2007, terminal 2 was opened, increasing the airport's operational capability by 40%. All SkyTeam members moved their operations to it, except Air France and KLM. It was officially inaugurated on March 2008, once the new road accesses and taxiways were finished. Terminal 2 increased the airport's contact positions by 40%, and the operational capacity by 15%. Terminal 2 is connected to the Domestic Building of Terminal 1 by the Aerotrén monorail system, in which travel between both terminals can be done in less than 7 minutes.
Lack of capacity and slot restriction
Terminal 2The airport has suffered from a lack of capacity due to restrictions for expansion, since it is located in a densely-populated area. Some analysts have reported that if the airport had grown at the same speed as demand, it would now serve over 40 million passengers annually. The main issue with the airport is the limitation that its two runways provide, since they are used at 97.3% of their maximum capacity, leaving a very short room for new operations into the airport. Only government, military and commercial aircraft are allowed to land at the airport. Private aircraft must use alternate airports, such as Lic. Adolfo Lopez Mateos International Airport in Toluca, General Mariano Matamoros Airport in Cuernavaca or Hermanos Serdán International Airport in Puebla. Even with the inauguration of the new Terminal 2, the airport would be ideally designed to serve around 18 million passengers per year, according to the international standards for runway and terminal usage. Instead, the airport will keep increasing the number of passengers from around 26 million passengers in 2008 at a rate of 16% per year.
Airport Specifications
Terminal Layout before T2 Terminal layout after T2 was built Mexicana A320 at Terminal 1 Mexicana A320 at Mexico City International Airport.Terminal 1
- Opened in 1958; expanded in 1970, 1989, 1998, 2000 and 2004
- Overall terminal surface: 548,000 sq meters
- Contact positions: 33
- Remote positions: 20 (34 Before New T2 was built)
- Number of jetways: 32
- Number of airside halls: 10 (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J)
- Number of landside (check-in) halls: 9 (A1, A2, B, C, D, D1, F1, F2, F3)
- Number of mobile-lounges: 11 (A7-A, A7-B, A7-C, A9-A, A9-B, A9-C, A9-D, A9-E, F19-A, F19-C, F19-D)
- Hotel service: 600 rooms (Camino Real), 110 rooms (Hilton)
- Parking service: 3,100 vehicles (Domestic), 2,400 vehicles (International)
- Space per passenger in T1: 17 sq meters
- Number of baggage claiming carousels: 22
- Premium Lounges in T1: Salón Premier Internacional T1 (Aeroméxico), Red Carpet Club (United Airlines), Admirals Club (American Airlines), American Express Lounge (American Express), Elite Lounge Nacional (Mexicana), Elite Lounge Internacional (Mexicana).
Terminal 2
- Opened in 2007
- Overall terminal surface: 242,000 sq meters
- Contact positions: 23
- Remote positions: 17 (Aeromar and Aeromexico Connect)
- Number of jetways: 23
- Number of airside halls: 2 (Domestic, International)
- Number of landside (check-in) halls: 3 (L1, L2, L3)
- Hotel service: 287 rooms (NH)
- Parking service: 3,000 vehicles
- Space per passenger in T2: 22 sq meters
- Number of baggage claiming carousels: 15
- Premium Lounges in T2: Club Diamante (Aeromar), Salón Premier (Aeroméxico), Salón Premier Internacional T2 (Aeroméxico), Riedel Wine Room (Aeroméxico) , Travel Pass Elite Lounge (Banamex) , Centurion American Express Lounge American Express.
- Platform surface: 426,000 sq meters
- Inter-terminal Aerotrén capacity: 7,800 daily passengers
Terminal 2 is now housing all Aeroméxico flights out of the airport, becoming the airlines's main distribution center. Although the terminal was intended to be served by all-SkyTeam member airlines, Air France and KLM are not moving their operations until the new cargo terminal is built aside Terminal 2, since the existing one is at the other side of the airport.
Terminals, airlines and destinations
| Airlines | Destinations | Terminal |
|---|---|---|
| Aeromar | Acapulco, Aguascalientes, Ciudad Victoria, Colima, Lázaro Cárdenas, Manzanillo, Morelia, Poza Rica, Saltillo, San Luis Potosí, Tepic, Xalapa, Zacatecas | 2 |
| Aeroméxico | Acapulco, Barcelona, Bogotá, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Cancún, Chicago-O'Hare, Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, Culiacán, Denver [seasonal], Guadalajara, Havana, Hermosillo, Houston-Intercontinental, Las Vegas, Lima, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mérida, Miami, Monterrey, New York-JFK, Ontario [seasonal], Orlando, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Phoenix, Puerto Vallarta, San Francisco, San José de Costa Rica, San José del Cabo, Santiago de Chile, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Shanghai-Pudong, Tijuana, Tokyo-Narita, Villahermosa | 2 |
| Aeroméxico Connect | Acapulco, Aguascalientes, Campeche, Chihuahua, Ciudad del Carmen, Ciudad Obregón, Culiacán, Durango, Guadalajara, Houston-Intercontinental, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, La Paz, León/El Bajío, Los Mochis, Matamoros, Mazatlán, Mérida, Monterrey, Morelia, New Orleans [ends July 26], Nuevo Laredo, Oaxaca, Poza Rica, Puerto Vallarta, Reynosa, San Antonio, San Luis Potosí, San Pedro Sula, Tampico, Tapachula, Tijuana, Torreón/Gómez Palacio, Veracruz, Villahermosa, Zacatecas | 2 |
| Aeroméxico Travel | Cancún, Cozumel, Huatulco, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta, Punta Cana | 2 |
| Air Canada | Montréal-Trudeau [seasonal], Toronto-Pearson | 1 |
| Air France | Paris-Charles de Gaulle | 1 |
| Alaska Airlines | Los Angeles | 1 |
| American Airlines | Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami | 1 |
| Avianca | Bogotá | 1 |
| British Airways | London-Heathrow | 1 |
| Continental Airlines | Houston-Intercontinental, Newark | 2 |
| Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines | Houston-Intercontinental | 2 |
| Copa Airlines | Panama City | 2 |
| Cubana de Aviación | Havana | 1 |
| Delta Air Lines | Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul [begins December 18][5], New York-JFK, Salt Lake City | 2 |
| Iberia | Madrid | 1 |
| Interjet | Acapulco [seasonal], Cancún, Chihuahua, Ciudad del Carmen, Ciudad Juárez, Ciudad Obregón, Culiacán, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Huatulco [seasonal], Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo [seasonal], Los Mochis, Mérida, Monterrey, Puerto Vallarta [seasonal], San José del Cabo, Tampico, Tapachula, Tijuana, Tuxtla Gutiérrez | 1 |
| KLM | Amsterdam | 1 |
| LAN AirlinesA | Santiago de Chile | 2 |
| LAN PeruA | Lima | 2 |
| Lufthansa | Frankfurt | 1 |
| Magni | Cancún, Huatulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Manzanillo, Mérida, Monterrey, Puerto Vallarta, San José del Cabo | 1 |
| Mexicana | Bogotá, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Calgary, Cancún, Caracas, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Guadalajara, Guatemala City, Havana, Las Vegas, London-Gatwick, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, Monterrey, Montréal-Trudeau, New York-JFK, Orlando, Panama City, San Antonio, San Francisco, San José de Costa Rica, San José del Cabo, San Salvador, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Tijuana, Toronto-Pearson, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Vancouver, Washington-Dulles | 1 |
| MexicanaClick | Acapulco, Cancún, Chetumal, Chihuahua, Ciudad del Carmen, Cozumel [seasonal], Culiacán, Guadalajara, Havana, Huatulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Mazatlán, Mérida, Mexicali, Minatitlán/Coatzacoalcos, Nuevo Laredo, Oaxaca, Puerto Escondido, Puerto Vallarta, Reynosa [ends July 31], San José del Cabo, San Luis Potosí, Tampico, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Veracruz, Villahermosa | 1 |
| MexicanaClick operated by Aeromar | León/El Bajío, San Luis Potosi, Tampico, Veracruz | 2 |
| MexicanaLink | Campeche, Durango, Guadalajara, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, La Paz, Los Mochis, Manzanillo, Mazatlán, Reynosa [begins August 1], Torreón/Gómez Palacio, Zacatecas | 1 |
| TACA | Guatemala City, San Salvador | 1 |
| TACA Costa Rica | Guatemala City, San José de Costa Rica | 1 |
| TACA Perú | Lima | 1 |
| United Airlines | Chicago O'Hare [seasonal], Denver [seasonal], Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington-Dulles | 1 |
| US Airways | Charlotte, Phoenix | 1 |
| Viva Aerobus | Guadalajara, Monterrey | 1 |
| Volaris | Mexicali [begins September 1], Tijuana | 1 |
A:^ LAN and LanPeru flights to/from Cancún are only for non-domestic, connecting traffic.
Cargo Airlines
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| ABX Air | Guadalajara, Los Angeles, New York-JFK |
| Aerounión | Chicago-O'Hare, Guadalajara, Los Angeles |
| Air France Cargo | Guadalajara, Houston-Intercontinental, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Porto |
| Amerijet International | Guadalajara, Miami, Monterrey |
| Astar Air Cargo | Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Miami |
| Atlas Air | Huntsville |
| Cargolux | Houston-Intercontinental, Guadalajara, Luxembourg, Miami, New York-JFK |
| Centurion Air Cargo | Miami |
| Cielos Airlines | Lima |
| DHL Aviation | Miami |
| DHL de Guatemala | Guatemala City |
| Estafeta | Hermosillo, Mérida, Miami, San Luis Potosí, Villahermosa |
| Florida West International Airways | Bogotá, Miami |
| Lufthansa Cargo | Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Frankfurt |
| MasAir | Bogotá, Caracas, Guadalajara, Lima, Los Angeles, Medellín-Córdova, Miami, Quito, Santiago de Chile, São Paulo-Viracopos |
| Regional Cargo | Cancún, Mérida |
| Tampa Cargo | Bogotá |
| UPS Airlines | Louisville |
Airlines providing on-demand cargo services.
- Aeropostal Cargo de México
- Air Cargo Carriers
- Air Transport International
- Ameristar Jet Charter
- Contract Air Cargo
- Kalitta Air
- Líneas Aéreas Suramericanas
- Martinair Cargo
- USA Jet Airlines
- World Airways
Statistics
Passenger traffic
| Year | Total passengers[6] | % change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 24,727,296 | 2.5% |
| 2007 | 25,881,662 | 4.7% |
| 2008 | 26,210,217 | 1.3% |
| 2009 | 24,243,056 | -7.5% |
Operations
External façade of Terminal 2 Terminal 2 Hall L3 Entrance Terminal 2 Hall L3 Check-in Counters Terminal 2 Hall L2 in the foreground, Hall 1 in the far background| Rank | City | Passengers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles, USA | 341,906 |
| 2 | New York, USA | 275,526 |
| 3 | Miami, USA | 272,976 |
| 4 | Houston, USA | 267,589 |
| 5 | Madrid, Spain | 215,205 |
| 6 | Dallas, USA | 179,905 |
| 7 | Paris, France | 178,350 |
| 8 | Chicago, USA | 171,197 |
| 9 | Panama City, Panama | 126,263 |
| 10 | San Francisco, USA | 115,321 |
| 11 | Atlanta, USA | 104,296 |
| 12 | Guatemala City, Guatemala | 102,136 |
| 13 | Frankfurt, Germany | 99,560 |
| 14 | Bogotá, Colombia | 92,769 |
| 15 | San José, Costa Rica | 91,427 |
| 16 | Toronto, Canada | 88,645 |
| 17 | Las Vegas, USA | 85,321 |
| 18 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 82,877 |
| 19 | São Paulo, Brazil | 78,110 |
| 20 | La Habana, Cuba | 75,057 |
| 21 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 75,024 |
| 22 | Santiago de Chile, Chile | 73,943 |
| 23 | London, United Kingdom | 72,499 |
| 24 | Lima, Peru | 69,284 |
| 25 | San Antonio, USA | 64,413 |
| Rank | City | Passengers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cancún, Quintana Roo | 962,747 |
| 2 | Monterrey, Nuevo León | 947,243 |
| 3 | Guadalajara, Jalisco | 844,015 |
| 4 | Tijuana, Baja California | 352,544 |
| 5 | Mérida, Yucatán | 338,356 |
| 6 | Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas | 315,720 |
| 7 | Villahermosa, Tabasco | 276,148 |
| 8 | Veracruz, Veracruz | 272,025 |
| 9 | Hermosillo, Sonora | 216,971 |
| 10 | Acapulco, Guerrero | 206,483 |
| 11 | Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco | 198,993 |
| 12 | Tampico, Tamaulipas | 188,090 |
| 13 | Los Cabos, Baja California Sur | 186,143 |
| 14 | Oaxaca, Oaxaca | 182,861 |
| 15 | Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua | 179,518 |
| 16 | Bahías de Huatulco, Oaxaca | 145,708 |
| 17 | Torreón/Gómez Palacio, Coahuila | 138,511 |
| 18 | Culiacán, Sinaloa | 133,507 |
| 19 | Chihuahua, Chihuahua | 120,024 |
| 20 | Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Guerrero | 114,514 |
| 21 | Leon, Guanajuato/Del Bajio | 112,909 |
| 22 | Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche | 109,258 |
| 23 | Mexicali, Baja California | 103,101 |
| 24 | Reynosa, Tamaulipas | 94,600 |
| 25 | Mazatlan, Sinaloa | 91,205 |
Ground transportation
Individuals aircraft spotting from a spot adjacent the taxiwaysMetro and bus services
The airport is served by the Terminal Aérea Metro station, located just outside the national terminal; it also has a Bus Terminal, which is served by various bus lines [1] with routes to Cuernavaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Toluca, Pachuca, and Córdoba. Whilst the airport always had a bus area, the bus terminal building itself was not built until 2003, to accommodate the many passengers that utilize this service.
Accidents and Incidents
- On October 31, 1979, Western Airlines Flight 2605 crash-landed. The crew of the DC-10 had landed on the wrong runway and the jetliner hit construction vehicles that were on the closed runway. There were 78 fatalities (including one on the ground) and 14 survivors.
- An Aero California DC-9-15 overran in 2006, during an intense storm at the airport. There were no victims, but the aircraft was scrapped. However, a woman died later due to a heart attack.[citation needed]
- On September 9, 2009, hijacked Aeroméxico Flight 576 landed at Mexico City International Airport from Cancun International Airport.
- On September 13, 2009, Lufthansa Cargo McDonnell-Douglas MD-11 D-ALCO was severely damaged in a heavy landing. Post landing inspection revealed that there were wrinkles in the fuselage skin and the nose gear was bent. It is reported that the aircraft may be written off.[7]
See also
| Mexico portal | |
| Aviation portal |
References
- ^ Airport information for MMMX at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
- ^ Airport information for MEX at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective Oct. 2006).
- ^ "BEGIN SERVICE IN THE AICM T2: Aeromexico, Aeromexico Connect, COPA & LAN (In Spanish)". Mexico City International Airport. http://www.aicm.com.mx/acercadelaicm_en/AICMinforma/index.php?Publicacion=82. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "AICM Ranks 50th Place Among Most Important Airports in the World". Mexico City International Airport. http://www.aicm.com.mx/acercadelaicm_en/Estadisticas/index.php?Publicacion=1526. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ http://news.delta.com/index.php?s=43&item=1057
- ^ "Statistics AICM". Mexico City International Airport. http://www.aicm.com.mx/acercadelaicm_en/Estadisticas/. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Accident: Lufthansa Cargo MD11 at Mexico City on Sep 13th 2009, hard landing". The Aviation Herald. http://avherald.com/h?article=4210beec&opt=0. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
External links
- Mexico City International Airport
- Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares Homepage
- Information about Mexico City Airport
- Accident history for MEX at Aviation Safety Network
Categories: Airports in Mexico | WAAS reference stations | Transportation in Mexico City
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