Mexico’s government wants you to fly into its new airport, whether you like it or not

Despite government fanfare, the new Felipe Angeles airport in Mexico City is turning out to be a bit of a boondoggle. Though it serves one of the largest cities in the world, the airport averages only 12 flights a day. To remedy the situation, the federal government has issued a decree to immediately move all cargo and charter flights to the new airport — in what could only be described as an effort to save face. But the government has also hinted that it intends to move even more flights, including low-cost domestic routes, in the near future. Public disdain for the new airport is due in part to its location, nearly an hour and a half from Mexico City. “When booking flights to Mexico City, one of the most common petitions we are now getting from customers is a desire to avoid the Felipe Angeles airport,” said Eduardo Paniagua, the president of Mexico’s travel agent association.

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The Felipe Ángeles International Airport began construction shortly after the start of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s term. This after the president stopped construction at yet another airport begun by his predecessor in Texcoco, allegedly for political reasons. The first couple of weeks of operations of the Felipe Angeles airport were marred by a lack of water in bathrooms and few basic services such as restaurants. The airport’s location has also been reported to complicate safe aviation in the Valley of Mexico, according to the air-traffic controllers union, which recently released a report on the matter. The federal government insists that public perception has nothing to do with the reality on the ground, but rather negative media coverage.