Touchdown of an Aeromexico La Laguna airline airplane at Mexico Metropolis Worldwide Airport.
Gerrardo Vieyra | NurPhoto | Getty Photos
The Trump administration mentioned on Saturday it’s taking a sequence of actions towards Mexico over the Mexican authorities’s selections to rescind some flight slots for U.S. carriers and drive U.S. cargo carriers to relocate operations in Mexico Metropolis.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy mentioned in a press release the division might disapprove flight requests from Mexico if the federal government fails to handle U.S. considerations over selections made in 2022 and 2023. The division can also be proposing to withdraw antitrust immunity from the Delta Air Strains three way partnership with Aeromexico to handle aggressive points available in the market.
Mexico is the most well-liked worldwide vacation spot amongst U.S. airline vacationers.
Delta mentioned if the U.S. Division of Transportation withdraws approval, it “would trigger important hurt to customers touring between the U.S. and Mexico, in addition to U.S. jobs, communities, and transborder competitors.”
The Transportation Division mentioned Mexico has not been in compliance with a bilateral air settlement since 2022 when it abruptly rescinded slots after which compelled U.S. all-cargo carriers to relocate operations in 2023.
Mexico’s Transport Ministry and main Mexican airways, together with Aeromexico, couldn’t be instantly reached for remark.
Duffy mentioned Mexico was anticipated to finish building to alleviate congestion at Mexico Metropolis’s Benito Juarez Worldwide Airport (MEX), however that has but to materialize three years later.
“By proscribing slots and mandating that all-cargo operations transfer out of MEX, Mexico has damaged its promise, disrupted the market, and left American companies holding the bag for thousands and thousands in elevated prices,” the division mentioned.
The USDOT additionally mentioned it might take motion towards European international locations over limitations at airports. “We’re monitoring European States to make sure that they apply the Balanced Strategy course of for noise abatement at their airports and don’t implement unjustified operational restrictions,” the division mentioned.
The Transportation Division issued a pair of orders requiring Mexican airways to file schedules with the division for all their U.S. operations by July 29 and requiring prior U.S. approval earlier than working any massive passenger or cargo plane constitution flights to or from the US.
“Mexico has altered the enjoying area considerably for airways in ways in which cut back competitors and permit predominant opponents to realize an unfair benefit within the U.S.-Mexico market,” the division mentioned. “Mexico’s actions hurt airways searching for to enter the market, current competitor airways, customers of air journey and merchandise counting on time-sensitive air cargo shipments traded between the 2 international locations, and different stakeholders within the American financial system.”
If the U.S. rescinds antitrust approval for Delta and Aeromexico, they’d be required to discontinue cooperation on widespread pricing, capability administration, and income sharing, however Delta would additionally be capable to retain its fairness stake in Aeromexico, keep all of its current flying within the U.S.-Mexico market unimpeded and proceed a partnership.
