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Mexico City International Airport

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Benito Juarez International Airport

Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México
Mexico City International Airport as seen from a satellite before the construction of Terminal 2.
  • IATA: MEX
  • ICAO: MMMX
    MEX is located in Mexico
    MEX
    MEX
    Location of airport in Mexico
Summary
Airport typeCivil
OwnerGrupo Aeroportuario de la Ciudad de México
OperatorAeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares
ServesMexico City, Mexico
LocationVenustiano Carranza, D.F.
Hub for
Elevation AMSL7,316 ft / 2,230 m
Coordinates19°26′10″N 099°04′19″W / 19.43611°N 99.07194°W / 19.43611; -99.07194
Websitewww.aicm.com.mx
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
05R/23L 3,900 12,795 Asphalt
05L/23R 3,952 12,966 Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Aircraft Movements348,306
Passengers24,243,056
Cargo tonnage321,133
Source: DAFIF[1][2]

Mexico City International Airport (Template:Lang-es), 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 busiest airport by both passenger traffic and aircraft movements. 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 an 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 (Aeromexico is the only airline that flies to Asia from Mexico City).

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. It is also a hub for Interjet and a focus city for VivaAerobus.

In 2009, Mexico City International Airport was Latin America's busiest airport[4] by passenger traffic and aircraft movements. Currently is the second busiest airport by passenger traffic after Guarulhos Airport in São Paulo, Brazil. 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.

History

The airport first opened as Balbuena Military Airport with five runways. 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 becoming a commercial airport. In the 1970's, president Luis Echeverría closed three runways and gave that land to poor people in order to build their homes, leaving just two parallel runways. 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.

In 2001, the east wing of the terminal was opened as an international final call waiting area and was mainly used by SkyTeam members. Because of the increasing demand, president Vicente Fox announced the construction of a new, larger airport on 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) in the municipalities of Texcoco and San Salvador Atenco, but when local protests with violence aroused, the new airport was cancelled. Instead, he launched a program called Expansion of Mexico City Airport to its Maximum Capacity in 2002 to increase the airport's capacity. The whole terminal was expanded and upgraded with new check-in halls, 13 more baggage claim belts, the construction of Departures and Arrivals floors, construction of several new taxiways and a whole new terminal opposite of the original, 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 capacity 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 Terminal 1 by the Aerotrén monorail system in which only connecting passengers with hand baggage are aloud to use with their boarding pass.

Lack of capacity and slot restriction

Terminal 2

The 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, commercial and specially authorized 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.

Terminals, airlines and destinations

Terminal Layout before T2
Terminal layout after T2 was built

Terminals

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 decided to remain at Terminal 1.

Airlines and destinations

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 L1 in the far background.
AeroMéxico Boeing 777-200ER is taking off from Mexico City airport to Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
An Aeroméxico Connect Embraer ERJ-145 landing.
AirlinesDestinationsTerminal
Aerolíneas ArgentinasBuenos Aires-Ezeiza [resumes March 4]1
AeromarAcapulco, Aguascalientes, Ciudad Victoria, Colima, Huatulco, Lázaro Cárdenas, León/El Bajío, Manzanillo, Morelia, Piedras Negras [begins December 20], Poza Rica, Puerto Escondido, Saltillo, San Luis Potosí, Tepic, Veracruz, Xalapa, Zacatecas2
AeroméxicoAcapulco, Barcelona, Bogotá, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Cancún, Chicago-O'Hare, Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, Culiacán, Guadalajara, Havana, Hermosillo, Las Vegas, Lima, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mazatlán, Mérida, Mexicali, Miami, Monterrey, Montréal-Trudeau, New York-JFK, Orlando, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Puerto Vallarta, San Francisco, San José de Costa Rica, San José del Cabo, Santiago de Chile, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Shanghai-Pudong, Tijuana, Tokyo-Narita, Tuxtla Gutierrez, Villahermosa
Seasonal: Denver		2
Aeroméxico ConnectAcapulco, 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, Minatitlán/Coatzacoalcos, Monterrey, Morelia, Nuevo Laredo, Oaxaca, Poza Rica, Puerto Vallarta, Reynosa, San Antonio, San José del Cabo, San Luis Potosí, San Pedro Sula, Tampico, Tapachula, Tijuana, Torreón/Gómez Palacio, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Veracruz, Villahermosa, Zacatecas2
Aeroméxico TravelCancún, Cozumel, Huatulco, Mazatlán, Mérida, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta, Punta Cana2
Air CanadaMontréal-Trudeau, Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver1
Air FranceParis-Charles de Gaulle1
Alaska AirlinesLos Angeles1
American AirlinesChicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami1
AviancaBogotá1
British AirwaysLondon-Heathrow1
Continental AirlinesHouston-Intercontinental, Newark2
Continental Express operated by ExpressJet AirlinesHouston-Intercontinental2
Copa AirlinesPanama City2
Copa Airlines ColombiaBogotá2
Cubana de AviaciónHavana1
Delta Air LinesAtlanta, Detroit, Memphis [begins January 8][5], Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City2
IberiaMadrid1
InterjetCancún, Chetumal, Chihuahua, Ciudad del Carmen, Ciudad Juárez, Ciudad Obregón, Culiacán, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Huatulco, Los Mochis, Mérida, Monterrey, San José del Cabo, Tampico, Tijuana, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Veracruz, Villahermosa
Seasonal: Acapulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Puerto Vallarta		1
KLMAmsterdam1
LAN AirlinesSantiago de Chile2
LAN PerúLima2
LufthansaFrankfurt1
MagniCancún, Huatulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Manzanillo, Mérida, Monterrey, Puerto Vallarta, San José del Cabo1
TACA AirlinesSan Salvador1
TACA Airlines operated by LacsaGuatemala City, San José de Costa Rica1
TACA PerúLima1
United AirlinesChicago-O'Hare, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington-Dulles
Seasonal: Denver		1
US AirwaysCharlotte, Phoenix1
VivaAerobusCancún, Guadalajara, Mazatlán, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Villahermosa1
VolarisCancún, Culiacán [begins February 1], Chihuahua, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, La Paz, Mérida, Mexicali, San José del Cabo, Tijuana1

Other services

Cargo airlines

AirlinesDestinations
ABX AirGuadalajara, Los Angeles, New York-JFK
AeroUnion Chicago-O'Hare, Guadalajara, Los Angeles
Air France Cargo Guadalajara, Houston-Intercontinental, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Porto
Amerijet International Miami, Monterrey
Atlas AirHuntsville
CargoluxAtlanta, Houston-Intercontinental, Guadalajara, Luxembourg, Miami, New York-JFK
Centurion Air Cargo Miami
Cielos AirlinesLima
DHL Express operated by Astar Air CargoCincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Miami
DHL de GuatemalaGuatemala City
Estafeta Hermosillo, Mérida, San Luis Potosí, Villahermosa
Florida West International AirwaysBogotá, Miami
Lufthansa Cargo Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Frankfurt
MasAir Bogotá, Caracas, Guadalajara, Los Angeles, Medellín-Córdova, Miami, São Paulo-Viracopos
Regional Cargo Cancún, Mérida, Monterrey, Querétaro
Tampa Cargo Bogotá
UPS Airlines Louisville

Airlines providing on-demand cargo services.

Other facilities

The Aeromar headquarters are located in Hangar 7 in Zone D of the General Aviation Terminal of the airport.[6][7]

Traffic statistics

Year Total passengers[8] % change Aircraft Movements % change Cargo [TM] % change
2006 24,727,296 Increase 2.5 355,593 Increase 6.9 - -
2007 25,881,662 Increase 4.7 378,161 Increase 6.3 - -
2008 26,210,217 Increase 1.3 366,561 Decrease 3.1 376,095.71 -
2009 24,243,056 Decrease 7.5 348,306 Decrease 5.0 321,133.44 Decrease 14.61
2010 [until November] 22,053,061 Decrease 0.24 312,560 Decrease 2.02 358,586.77 Increase 23.39

Operations

Busiest International Routes out of Mexico City International Airport [2009]
Rank City Passengers Top Carriers
1 Los Angeles, USA 341,906 AeroMéxico, Alaska Airlines, Mexicana, United Airlines
2 New York, USA 275,526 AeroMéxico, Delta Air Lines, Mexicana
3 Miami, USA 272,976 AeroMéxico, American Airlines, Mexicana
4 Houston, USA 267,589 AeroMéxico, Aeroméxico Connect, Continental Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines
5 Madrid, Spain 215,205 AeroMéxico, Iberia, Mexicana
6 Dallas, USA 179,905 American Airlines, Mexicana
7 Paris, France 178,350 AeroMéxico, Air France
8 Chicago, USA 171,197 AeroMéxico, Mexicana, United Airlines
9 Panama City, Panama 126,263 Copa Airlines, Mexicana
10 San Francisco, USA 115,321 AeroMéxico, Mexicana, United Airlines
11 Atlanta, USA 104,296 AeroMéxico, Delta Air Lines
12 Guatemala City, Guatemala 102,136 TACA, Mexicana
13 Frankfurt, Germany 99,560 Lufthansa
14 Bogotá, Colombia 92,769 Avianca, Mexicana
15 San José, Costa Rica 91,427 LACSA, Mexicana
16 Toronto, Canada 88,645 Air Canada, Mexicana
17 Las Vegas, USA 85,321 AeroMéxico, Mexicana
18 Amsterdam, Netherlands 82,877 KLM
19 São Paulo, Brazil 78,110 AeroMéxico, Mexicana
20 La Habana, Cuba 75,057 Cubana de Aviación, Mexicana
21 Buenos Aires, Argentina 75,024 AeroMéxico, Mexicana
22 Santiago de Chile, Chile 73,943 AeroMéxico, LAN Airlines
23 London, United Kingdom 72,499 British Airways
24 Lima, Peru 69,284 AeroMéxico, LAN Perú
25 San Antonio, USA 64,413 Aeroméxico Connect, Mexicana
Busiest Domestic Routes out of Mexico City International Airport [2009]
Rank City Passengers Top Carriers
1 Quintana Roo Cancún, Quintana Roo 962,747 AeroMéxico, Interjet, Magni, Mexicana, MexicanaClick
2 Nuevo León Monterrey, Nuevo León 947,243 AeroMéxico, Aeroméxico Connect, Interjet, Mexicana
3 Jalisco Guadalajara, Jalisco 844,015 AeroMéxico, Interjet, Mexicana, MexicanaClick
4 Baja California Tijuana, Baja California 352,544 AeroMéxico, Interjet
5 Yucatán Mérida, Yucatán 338,356 AeroMéxico, Aeroméxico Connect, Interjet, Magni, Mexicana, MexicanaClick
6 Chiapas Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas 315,720 Interjet, Mexicana, MexicanaClick
7 Tabasco Villahermosa, Tabasco 276,148 AeroMéxico, MexicanaClick
8 Veracruz Veracruz, Veracruz 272,025 Aeroméxico Connect, Interjet, MexicanaClick
9 Sonora Hermosillo, Sonora 216,971 AeroMéxico, Interjet
10 Guerrero Acapulco, Guerrero 206,483 Aeromar, AeroMéxico, Aeroméxico Connect, Interjet, MexicanaClick
11 Jalisco Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco 198,993 AeroMéxico, Aeroméxico Connect, Magni, MexicanaClick
12 Tamaulipas Tampico, Tamaulipas 188,090 Aeroméxico Connect, Interjet, MexicanaClick
13 Baja California Sur Los Cabos, Baja California Sur 186,143 AeroMéxico, Interjet, Magni, Mexicana, MexicanaClick
14 Oaxaca Oaxaca, Oaxaca 182,861 Aeroméxico Connect, MexicanaClick
15 Chihuahua (state) Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua 179,518 AeroMéxico, Interjet
16 Oaxaca Bahías de Huatulco, Oaxaca 145,708 Interjet, Magni, MexicanaClick
17 Coahuila Torreón/Gómez Palacio, Coahuila 138,511 AeroMéxico, Aeroméxico Connect, MexicanaClick
18 Sinaloa Culiacán, Sinaloa 133,507 AeroMéxico, Aeroméxico Connect, Interjet, MexicanaClick
19 Chihuahua (state) Chihuahua, Chihuahua 120,024 AeroMéxico
20 Guerrero Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Guerrero 114,514 Aeroméxico Connect, Interjet, Magni, MexicanaClick
21 Guanajuato Leon, Guanajuato/Del Bajio 112,909 Aeromar, AeroMéxico, Aeroméxico Connect,
22 Campeche Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche 109,258 Aeroméxico Connect, Interjet, MexicanaClick
23 Baja California Mexicali, Baja California 103,101 Mexicana, MexicanaClick
24 Tamaulipas Reynosa, Tamaulipas 94,600 Aeroméxico Connect, MexicanaClick
25 Sinaloa Mazatlan, Sinaloa 91,205 Aeroméxico Connect, MexicanaClick

Ground transportation

Individuals aircraft spotting from a spot adjacent the taxiways

Metro 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.[9]

See also

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References

  1. ^ Template:WAD
  2. ^ Airport information for MEX at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
  3. ^ "BEGIN SERVICE IN THE AICM T2: Aeromexico, Aeromexico Connect, COPA & LAN (In Spanish)". Mexico City International Airport. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
  4. ^ "AICM Ranks 50th Place Among Most Important Airports in the World". Mexico City International Airport. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
  5. ^ http://news.delta.com/index.php?s=43&item=1162
  6. ^ "Directory: World Airlines." Flight International. March 16-22, 2004. 50. "Hangar 7, Zona "D", Terminal de Aviacion General, Col Federal, Mexico DF, 15620, Mexico"
  7. ^ "DIRECTORIO DE OFICINAS DE VENTAS." Aeromar. August 16, 2007. 3/7. "CORPORATIVO MEXICO Hangar No. 1 Zona "D" Col. Federal 15620 México, D. F."
  8. ^ "Statistics AICM". Mexico City International Airport. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
  9. ^ "Accident: Lufthansa Cargo MD11 at Mexico City on Sep 13th 2009, hard landing". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved October 11, 2009.
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