The Mexican Aviation airline resumes flights now in the hands of the Army

Mexican Aviation, the first airline commercial of the country, resumed flight this Tuesday after its bankruptcy 13 years ago and the rescue of the president Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who handed over its control to the Army, which has raised questions about its viability.

The airline’s first flight, a Boeing 737-800, departed at 8:00 a.m. local time (2:00 p.m. GMT) from the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) in the Mexican capital to the new Tulum Airport, both built by the Government. of López Obrador and administered by the Armed Forces.

“This historic event, the return of Mexicana after many years of not flying, is really quite an event, so that this line that is emblematic of Mexicans, which has to do with our history, flies again,” declared the president in his morning conference.

Last August, the Government had announced an initial investment of 4,000 million pesos (235.3 million dollars) for the new company, which was going to receive three Boeing 737-800 aircraft on September 30 and another seven on October 30.

But, after its start was delayed, the Secretary of National Defense, Luis Cresencio Sandoval, now rectified that the airline company begins with three of its own Boeing 737-800s and two rented Embraers, with the promise of renting five more aircraft in the first two months of 2024 and the next production of Boeing aircraft.

“Today, flights restart with new generation aircraft, including smaller aircraft to increase connectivity to airports where larger aircraft cannot operate.”said José Gerardo Vega, general director of the Olmeca-Maya-Mexica Airport, Railway, Auxiliary and Related Services Group, the Army company that operates Mexicana.

“Initially, the airline will begin operations from the Felipe Ángeles International Airport to 14 destinations in the country located in the states of Baja California, Campeche, Chiapas, Guerrero, Jalisco, Nuevo León, Quintana Roo, Sinaloa, Tabasco, Tamaulipas and Yucatán” , he detailed.

The return of the Mexican state airline

Since May 2021, President López Obrador had expressed his intention to revive Mexicana de Aviación, an airline with government participation that was the second oldest in America, after Avianca, but which in August 2010 went into bankruptcy.

On August 10, the Government announced an agreement with the 7,407 workers of the defunct airline, to whom it paid 815 million pesos (almost US$ 48 million) for the Army to use the brand.

López Obrador accused former President Vicente Fox (2000-2006) of privatizing the airline to hand it over to businessman Gastón Azcárraga, who is a fugitive from justice for crimes linked to the company’s bankruptcy.

“It is the beginning, but the important thing is that this Mexican airline is rescued after acts of corruption and these deliveries of public goods to individuals,” said.

The militarized commercial enterprise

The airline, which will prioritize flights to the airports that López Obrador has handed over to the Army, has promised tickets with an average cost of up to twenty% lower than the country’s other commercial airlines, Aeroméxico, Volaris and VivaAerobus.

“In compliance with the social objective, the airline offers trips at affordable prices, whether on single or round flights, with taxes and even with luggage of up to 25 kilograms at no additional cost. This represents an additional difference for the pockets of our fellow citizens.”commented Sergio Montaño, general director of Mexicana de Aviación.

But the opposition and businessmen have warned of unfair competition, financial unviability and the empowerment of the Armed Forces.

The López Obrador Government has also handed over to the Olmeca-Maya-Mexica military company the administration of the Mayan Train, the Interoceanic Corridor railway, new airports such as AIFA and Tulum, hotels and natural parks.

“We are entrusting this new public company to the Ministry of Defense because we need a strong institution of the Mexican State to be in charge of managing all these new public works that are being done for the development of the country, with the people’s budget.”defended the president.