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Mexico City International Airport
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- MEX/MMMX
- Country:
- Mexico
- CEO:
- Gerardo Ferrando
- Passenger Count :
- 36,056,614 (2021)
- Runways :
- 05R/23L - 3,900m (12,795ft) | 05L/23R - 3,952m (12,877ft)
- Terminals:
- Terminal 1 | Terminal 2
During the weekend, the Mexico City Benito Juárez International (MEX) had to close the runway 05R/23L following the appearance of a hole in the runway due to the heavy rain in the region. Overall, this incident impacted around 41 flights, the airport authorities said in a statement.
A hole in the ground
On Sunday, around 18:05 local time, the Mexico City airport authorities announced on social media that they had to close the runway 05R/23L immediately to repair the area following the appearance of a hole in the ground close to the touchdown zone.
The authorities said,
“The abundant amount of rainfall during this season and the constant landing of airplanes cause the detachment of gravel in the area where aircraft touch down on the runway. Since this is a critical area, it requires an immediate repair, for which the runway must be closed for safety reasons.”
The runway was closed between Sunday 18:00 and Monday 04:00. According to the airport authorities, the rain made repaving the runway more difficult.
While the airport maintenance crew repaved the surface of runway 05R/23L, landings and departures took place only from runway 05L/23R, which led to delays and flight cancellations.
Who was impacted by the closure of the runway?
On Monday, the airport authorities released a statement pointing out that the ten-hour closure of the runway led to delays of 35 flights, seven arrivals, and 28 departures. Moreover, three flights were canceled, and three had to land elsewhere.
Lufthansa’s flight LH498 between Frankfurt International Airport and Mexico City, onboard a Boeing 747-8 registration D-ABYK, had to divert to Querétaro International Airport (QRO).
Aeromexico’s flight AM555 between Cancun and Mexico City diverted to Acapulco, and American Airlines flight AM1566 from Washington also had to land in Queretaro due to the issues in Mexico City.
MEX is plagued with delays this season
In recent months, Mexico City International Airport leads the Latin American region in delays and cancellations in flight operations. MEX had 3,072 delays between April 1 and June 29, almost three times more than the second one in the Latin American region, Cancun, with 1,370 flight delays.
This high number of delays has impacted the operations of Mexico’s three largest airlines, Aeromexico, Viva Aerobus, and Volaris.
Recently, the Mexican authorities declared the airport had reached its saturation point and attempted to impose a cap on the number of hourly operations from MEX. They also said no airline would be allowed to launch new flights to and from Mexico after the IATA summer season ends; instead, they could launch flights from the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (NLU) or the Toluca International Airport (TLC), which also serve Mexico City.
Over the last few years, MEX has been neglected by the Mexican authorities. First, it was overlooked because the previous government was building the Texcoco International Airport, which was supposed to take over all the operations in Mexico City, forcing MEX’s closure.
The current government canceled the construction of the Texcoco Airport, and it is honoring the outstanding payments to investors. At the same time, it built the new Felipe Ángeles International Airport, meaning fewer money was flowing towards Mexico City airport, which is run by the government. Instead, the money, is flowing towards the failed project and the new airport.
In the meantime, MEX has had to work as the country’s main airport, but with minimal investment from the authorities. There’s an overload of aircraft operations and passengers in the hub, which has led to chronic chaos, delays, and cancellations.
Have you traveled to and from Mexico City International Airport? How was the experience? Let us know in the comments below.