American Airlines says it has received the paperwork it needed to begin service between Miami and Mérida, according to the Associated Press.
And Southwest Airlines is hoping to resume recently suspended flights between Los Angeles and three resort cities in Mexico beginning Sunday. The AP is reporting that the flights were grounded — after being initiated with much fanfare — because all the necessary paperwork hadn’t been completed.
The airline had cancelled a total of 40 flights from Los Angeles International Airport to Los Cabos, Puerto Vallarta and Cancun since Wednesday.
“For an airline that’s been so consistent for so long, it’s good to see them tripped up by matters that their peers would have likely caught before cancellations were necessary,” said Jason Clampet of Skift, an opinionated online travel site.
Southwest says it is trying to rebook the passengers on the canceled flights.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Mexico are forging ahead with yet more bilateral flight plans.
The federal undersecretary of transportation said Monday that five airlines have requested permission for between three and six new routes each. Four of those airlines — American Airlines, Delta, Southwest and Hawaiian — have received approvals, according to El Economista. The fifth deal is pending.
Although details of new routes weren’t disclosed, the official said that the destinations favored by the airlines are Mérida, Cancun, Monterrey, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta. Mexico City was not among the destinations in the agreements.
This expansion of air routes results from a new deal which took effect in August and replaces an accord signed in 1960.
