President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexican carriers agreed to give up some slots at Mexico City’s main airport to U.S. airlines amid an ongoing dispute over slot distribution. She declined to specify the number of slots and said a digital flight-distribution system will be introduced next year with international participation. The move follows U.S. Department of Transportation actions in October that revoked approval for more than a dozen routes and canceled some services from the newer Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA). Sheinbaum also asked U.S. authorities to recognize both AICM and AIFA and noted customs processing at AIFA needs improvement.
Mexico Says Some Mexico City Airport Slots Were Relinquished to U.S. Carriers Amid DOT Dispute
President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexican carriers agreed to give up some slots at Mexico City’s main airport to U.S. airlines amid an ongoing dispute over slot distribution. She declined to specify the number of slots and said a digital flight-distribution system will be introduced next year with international participation. The move follows U.S. Department of Transportation actions in October that revoked approval for more than a dozen routes and canceled some services from the newer Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA). Sheinbaum also asked U.S. authorities to recognize both AICM and AIFA and noted customs processing at AIFA needs improvement.
12:45 AM, 11/18/2025Politics
Mexico City Airlines Yield Some Slots to U.S. Carriers as Tensions with U.S. DOT Continue
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday that several Mexican carriers agreed to relinquish a portion of their takeoff and landing slots at Mexico City’s busiest airport to U.S. airlines, a move intended to ease a bilateral dispute over slot allocation.
“Several weeks ago, there was a redistribution in slots, in which Mexican airlines gave up their spots to U.S. airlines, taking competitiveness into account,” Sheinbaum said at her regular morning press briefing. She declined to disclose the exact number of slots affected.
Sheinbaum added that a digital flight-distribution system is scheduled to be introduced next year and that U.S. and other international carriers have already agreed to participate. The new system is intended to improve transparency and streamline slot management between airports and airlines.
Background and U.S. Department of Transportation Action
The concession follows stepped-up scrutiny by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) of Mexican carriers' operations in the United States. In October, the DOT revoked approval for more than a dozen routes by Mexican airlines and canceled combined passenger-and-cargo services operated out of the newer Felipe Angeles International Airport (AIFA).
Those U.S. actions came after Mexico, several years earlier, reduced slot allocations at the centrally located Mexico City International Airport (AICM) and redirected cargo flights to AIFA, citing oversaturation at AICM while it undergoes renovations.
Government and Industry Reactions
Sheinbaum urged U.S. authorities to recognize the strategic importance of both airports — AICM and AIFA — the latter built under former president and her mentor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador. She said she has met with cargo carriers and that they are generally satisfied operating from AIFA, but she acknowledged that customs processing at the military-run airport requires improvements.
In August, United Airlines said Mexican officials had indicated that slots at AICM previously described as “confiscated” would be reinstated. The Mexican government’s recent slot redistribution appears aimed at defusing tensions while the new digital allocation system is prepared.
What’s next: Officials plan to roll out the digital flight-distribution system next year, which Mexico says will include international participation and help manage slot allocation more transparently.