After 50 years of litigation with ejidatarios, the second runway of the Guadalajara airport will be inaugurated next Tuesday and according to the coordinator of the economic cabinet, it will generate greater opportunities for growth and economic development for Jalisco.
Guadalajara, Jal. After 50 years of litigation with the ejido El Zapote for the possession of the lands in the Guadalajara airport, and after reaching an agreement between the community members and the Pacific Airport Group (GAP) at the beginning of 2023, the second runway of the Guadalajara International Airport will be inaugurated next Tuesday, July 23.
With the start of operations of the second runway, which required an investment of more than 15,000 million pesos corresponding to the 2020-2024 five-year period of the GAP, Jalisco is on its way to consolidating itself as the airport hub of the West of the country and will increase the opportunities for growth and economic development for the state, said the coordinator of the economic cabinet in the entity, Xavier Orendáin.
“Without a doubt, this second runway will not only double our air operations; as you have seen in recent weeks we have announced four new routes, a couple more that are coming before the end of the year and well, Guadalajara continues to be the most important airport in cargo value in the country,” stressed the official.
“It is evident that this second runway in Jalisco is a reflection of the opportunities that this state has and should also be a call to the people of Jalisco, especially those who export, to our countrymen, so that the second runway connects us more with the world,” said Orendáin De Obeso.
Road infrastructure
According to the coordinator of Economic Growth and Development of Jalisco, the growth in both cargo and passenger operations that the Guadalajara air terminal will have with the second runway, will force local authorities to develop alternative routes to get to and from the airport, as well as new public transport routes.
“A few months ago the GAP presented its Master Plan and not only road regulations are planned but also new industrial and logistics developments. Without a doubt, that is the big issue that must be put on the agenda now that the second runway is being inaugurated,” said the state official.
“Also, we must make the call to see how we can improve our road access in that area and be able to generate this route through the South corridor to López Mateos, take better advantage of the macroperipheral and it seems to me that if we also manage to carry out this concept of the peripheral with the laterals towards the highway to Chapala in the next few months, we can also relieve ourselves and, of course, we will leave the executive project for the BRT, the light rail to the airport,” he explained.
Although he avoided revealing further details of the start of operations of the runway, Xavier Orendáin anticipated that the inaugural flight will be by Volaris, which has its hub at the Guadalajara airport and that he also said that it will announce in the coming days “a large investment here in Jalisco.”
According to the statement issued by the GAP in February of last year on the agreements with the El Zapote Ejidal Commissariat, the concessionaire group acquired 116 hectares that will allow the Guadalajara air terminal to carry out new projects that serve to improve the operation and travel experience of passengers.
During the meeting with the Guadalajara Airport Advisory Commission in December 2023, its director, Martín Pablo Zazueta, reported that with the second runway, the air terminal will increase its capacity by 50% to be able to handle up to 60 operations per hour, even above the Mexico City International Airport (AICM).
Source: eleconomista
