A day after the clashes between the Mexican army and the Sinaloa drug cartel, three regional airports in the State of Sinaloa have reopened. On Thursday, two planes, including an Aeromexico Embraer E190, were shot at by members of the drug cartel.
The airports are reopening
On Thursday, the Mexican army arrested Ovidio Guzmán, son of the famous drug leader Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán, which led to clashes against the Sinaloa drug cartel across the state, and beyond. This impacted daily life across Sinaloa; public offices and private companies closed, and people remained locked in their homes.
The airline industry suffered as well. Three Sinaloan airports, Culiacán International (CUL), Mazatlán International (MZT), and Los Mochis International (LMM), closed during the day. The impact cascaded to Ciudad Obregón International Airport (CEN), located in the neighboring State of Sonora, which also saw some impact on its operations after Aeromexico canceled its flights to this city.
On Friday, the Grupo Aeroportuario Centro Norte (OMA), administrator of several airports throughout Mexico, including Culiacán and Mazatlán, announced the reopening of these two hubs at 10:00 local time after evaluating current conditions through the Airport Safety Local Committee.
Culiacán International is arguably the busiest of the four impacted airports, with 174 weekly departures on average, according to data by Cirium. Aeroméxico, American Airlines, Calafia Airlines, Viva Aerobus, Volaris, and Transportes Aéreos Regionales operate at this airport.
Meanwhile, Los Mochis International is set to open at 16:20 local time on Friday, according to an announcement by Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP), administrator of this airport.
What happened in Sinaloa?
On Thursday, the Mexican army arrested Ovidio Guzmán, a drug lord leader of the Sinaloa drug cartel. This arrest occurred a week before President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s official visit to Mexico. Both heads of state agreed to land in Mexico City’s new Felipe Ángeles International Airport (NLU), the pet project of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the incumbent President of Mexico.
After the arrest of Mr. Guzmán, clashes between the army and the Sinaloa drug cartel erupted in Sinaloa and Sonora. Ten army members died during the clashes, as well as 19 members of the drug cartel.
The drug members launched blockades throughout the states. They shot live ammunition at three planes, an Aeromexico Embraer E190 operating flight AM165 between Culiacán and Mexico City and a Boeing 737-800 and CASA 235 belonging to the Mexican Air Forces.
Videos and images published on social media show bullet holes on the fuselage of Aeromexico’s Embraer aircraft, registration XA-ALW, and a Mexican Air Forces’ Boeing 737-800, registration FAM-3256. A video also shows the military shooting water to extinguish a possible fire on one of the CASA 235's engines.
On Friday, the Mexican pilot union (ASPA) released a statement announcing that the crew and 61 passengers onboard flight AM165 were safe. A passenger uploaded a video on social media where showing passengers seeking cover below their seats as shots can be heard in the distance. Two kids are even heard in the video asking why this was happening. Thankfully, no one onboard was harmed during the day of violence.
What do you think about the decision to reopen the airports a day after the clashes? Let us know in the comments below.
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Aeromexico
- IATA/ICAO Code:
- AM/AMX
- Airline Type:
- Full Service Carrier
- Hub(s):
- Mexico City International Airport
- Year Founded:
- 1934
- Alliance:
- SkyTeam
- Airline Group:
- Grupo Aeromexico
- CEO:
- Andrés Conesa Labastida
- Country:
- Mexico
- Region:
- North America
- Loyalty Program:
- Aeromexico Rewards
