Bilateral with the US and airports

At this point in Trump's second administration, it's abundantly clear that his pressure methods and the success of his negotiations are directly proportional to the level of dependence on his opponent. That's why he secured negotiations with the European Union that include 15% tariffs, multi-billion-dollar investments, and purchases of European products, energy, and military equipment from the United States.

For this reason, preparations are already underway for the meeting with China's Xi Jinping, where a very favorable agreement for the Asian country that has already flexed its muscles is in sight. We still don't know what will become of the USMCA, whose negotiation had been brought forward to this year but, in the end, was postponed until 2026, with the caveat that it will be a new treaty with much tougher conditions than those currently in place under the treaty negotiated under his first administration.

Along the way, however, we will have to see what will happen with the Bilateral Aviation Agreement, which, as we had already mentioned, was breached by Mexico when it issued decrees relocating all-cargo airlines from Mexico City International Airport (AICM) to Felipe Ángeles Airport (AIFA) and then limiting slots at the capital's airport by up to 30%.

In the various communications exchanged between the United States and Mexican governments, a complete divergence in interpretations of the clauses of the Bilateral Agreement is evident, but there is no discernible convergence of positions or concern about clarifying what each party wants from the other. The US is annoyed by the limitation of slots in the AICM and the hypothetical expansion of land spaces, which was not clarified.

Among the DOT's complaints are that promised investments in the AICM to expand terminal areas have not materialized, that slots "provisionally" taken from some U.S. airlines have not been returned, and that IATA-based slot operating rules have not yet been published, although they are said to be adopted.

Various industry players point out that while the slot limitations have been complicated for all operators, as they've had to choose which destinations to serve and which to leave behind, it has, in some ways, fostered the growth of other airports as hubs, such as Cancún, Guadalajara, Tijuana, and, to a lesser extent, Monterrey.

On the other hand, the Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation has announced a grand total of 33 billion pesos in airport infrastructure across the country, creating 200,000 jobs. The investments will be primarily made by private groups, but the exact location and scope of the investments have not been specified, which would make the project more tangible.

In any case, a concrete roadmap is still lacking. There's talk of regional aviation, but there's no plan to drive it forward. If, amidst all this confusion, the Mexican government were to opt for a state policy that would make the sector viable, we would be looking at the best alternative to get out of the mess. But days go by and nothing concrete has emerged. It's time to take a new direction.