Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) registered its second consecutive year-on-year decline in passenger numbers in October, serving 586,000 passengers, a 1.5% decrease compared to the same month in 2024, according to data from the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC). This is also the steepest decline since its inauguration in March 2022, despite hosting the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix. While Mexico City International Airport (AICM) and Toluca International Airport (AIT) showed increases in traffic, AIFA experienced a contraction in both the domestic (-0.4%) and international (-15.6%) segments, the latter marking seven consecutive months of decline. The most important domestic routes continue to be Cancún, Guadalajara, and Monterrey, while international traffic is concentrated in destinations in the United States, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic.
Analysts attribute the decline to a combination of factors. Monex noted that the economic slowdown, with estimated growth of around 0.5% in 2025, has reduced demand for leisure and business travel. This is compounded by the lower seat availability due to inspections and preventative maintenance on Airbus aircraft, which kept part of the fleet grounded.
Other factors weighing on AIFA’s performance are its location and grounding connectivity, which are less attractive to the corporate segment, as well as the limited expansion of international routes. Verum added that the adjustment of routes to the United States and the revocation of permits for 13 new operations by the U.S. Department of Transportation—involving Aeroméxico, Volaris, and Viva Aerobus, some from AIFA—also negatively impacted international traffic and, consequently, domestic traffic.
Source: iaviationmexico
