Mexico City International Airport

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Mexico City International Airport Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México
IATA: MEX – ICAO: MMMX
Summary
Airport type		Civil
Owner		Grupo Aeroportuario de la Ciudad de México
Serves		Mexico City, Mexico
Elevation AMSL		7,316 ft / 2,230 m
Coordinates		19°26′10″N 099°04′19″W / 19.43611°N 99.07194°W / 19.43611; -99.07194
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
05R/23L	3,900	12,795	Asphalt
05L/23R	3,952	12,966	Asphalt
Statistics (2008)
Aircraft operations			366,561
Passengers			26,210,217
Domestic passengers			16,777,772
Int'l passengers			9,432,445
Source: DAFIF[1][2]

Mexico City International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México or AICM), also called Benito Juárez International Airport (IATA: MEX, ICAO: MMMX) is a commercial airport that serves Mexico City, the capital of Mexico. It is Mexico's and Latin America's busiest. Although this was not its official name for several decades, it was formally named after the 19th century president Benito Juárez in 2006, and is Mexico's main international and domestic gateway. This hot and high airport offers direct flights to more than 100 destinations worldwide. In 2008, the airport served 26,210,217 passengers. In optimal conditions, and with the current renovations and expansion projects completed, the airport will be able to handle up to 32 million passengers per year.^[3]. It provides non-stop services from Mexico City to North America, Central America and Caribbean, South America, Europe and Asia.

As the main hub for Mexico's largest airline Aeroméxico and a secondary hub for its subsidiary Aeroméxico Connect, the airport has become a SkyTeam hub. In addition, the airport is slated to become a Oneworld hub once Mexicana joins the alliance.

AICM is Latin America's busiest airport.^[4] The airport houses a wide variety of lodging options for its passengers, including a hotel inside Terminal 1 (Hilton, and two adjacent hotels: Camino Real, and Fiesta Inn). A new NH Hotel is expected to open in Terminal 2.^[5]

Contents 1 Lack of Capacity, Slot Restriction and Recent Expansions 2 Criticism of plane spotting area by U.S. newspaper 3 Accidents and Incidents 4 Airport Specifications 4.1 Terminal 1 (Built in 1958, expanded in 1970, 1989, 1998, 2000, and 2004) 4.2 Old Terminal 2 (Built in 2001) 4.3 New Terminal 2 (Built in 2007) 5 Traffic Statistics 6 Airlines and Destinations 6.1 Terminal 1 (T1) 6.1.1 Domestic Building (Gates A1 to E18) 6.1.2 International Building (Gates F19 to H36-A) 6.2 Terminal 2 (T2) SkyTeam 6.2.1 South Domestic Pier (Gates 63 to 75-F) 6.2.2 North International Pier (Gates 52 to 62) 7 Cargo Terminal 7.1 Cargo Airlines at MCIA 8 Ground transportation 8.1 Metro and bus services 9 References 10 External links

[edit] Lack of Capacity, Slot Restriction and Recent Expansions

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2008)

The airport has suffered since the early 1990s from a lack of capacity due to the limitation of space at its surroundings, since it is located in a densely-populated area and has no more space for expansion. Some analysts have reported that if the airport were to have grown at the same speed as demand, it would now serve over 40 million passengers annually. The main issue with the airport is the limitation that two runways provide, since they are used at 97.3% of their maximum capacity, leaving a very short room for new operations into the airport. Non-Government, Non-Military and Non-Commercial aircraft are restricted from landing at the airport. Private aircraft must use alternate airports, such as Lic. Adolfo Lopez Mateos International Airport in Toluca, General Mariano Matamoros Airport in Cuernavaca or Hermanos Serdán International Airport in Puebla. Even with the inauguration of new Terminal 2, the airport would be ideally designed to serve around 18 million passengers per year, according to the international standards for runway and terminal usage. Instead, the airport will keep increasing the number of passengers from around 26 million passengers in the present year at a rate of 16% per year.

Since the year 2000, the federal government has been trying to maximize the operational capacity if the airport. Former president Vicente Fox Quesada launched a program called Expansion of Mexico City Airport to its Maximum Capacity to expand the airport terminal and operational-wise to its largest extent possible. Several taxiways were planned and built, as well as the expansion and complete remodeling of Terminal 1, demolishing of Old Terminal 2, and finally the construction of New Terminal 2 at the other side of the largest terminal. The project was started with an initial investment of $20,000,000 MXP. Nevertheless, its final cost was $800,000,000 MXP.

In 2005, the airport management together with the federal government decided to build a new terminal at the other side of the airport, in order to take advantage of all possible space inside the airport's borders. Old Terminal 2 which only housed Aeromar's operations in and out the airport was demolished, and a whole new terminal was built in less than two years. Terminal 2 increased the airport's contact positions by 40%, and the operational capacity by 15%. Terminal 2 is connected to the Domestic Building of Terminal 1 by the Aerotrén monorail system, by which a transfer between both buildings is possible in less than 7 minutes.

[edit] Criticism of plane spotting area by U.S. newspaper

On November 28, 2004, The Arizona Republic, a U.S. newspaper, published an article saying that it was remarkable that, after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, Benito Juárez International Airport kept its plane spotting area open to the public, whereas a large number of airports worldwide had decided to close theirs. The Republic estimated that about 300 viewers and 100 model airplane and food sellers are attracted to the area every day. The airport's director told the newspaper that they had decided to leave the area open because it offered a free alternative for low-income families to spend the day. Nevertheless, from inside the airport facilities, it is practically impossible to get a full view of the airport, since many obstructions have been built in order to meet the airport's safety standards.

[edit] Accidents and Incidents

• On October 31, 1979, Western Airlines Flight 2605 crash-landed. The crew of the DC-10 had landed on the wrong runway and the jetliner hit construction vehicles that were on the closed runway. There were 78 fatalities (including one on the ground) and 14 survivors.
• An Aero California DC-9-15 overran in 2006, during an intense storm at the airport. There were no victims, but the aircraft was scrapped. However, a woman died later due to a heart attack.^{[citation needed]}
• Main article: 2008 Mexico City plane crash
• On November 4, 2008, the Secretary of the interior Juan Camilo Mouriño was killed when the SEGOB-owned Learjet 45 he was traveling on his way back from San Luis Potosí crashed in Mexico City before reaching the airport.

[edit] Airport Specifications

[edit] Terminal 1 (Built in 1958, expanded in 1970, 1989, 1998, 2000, and 2004)

• Overall terminal surface: 548,000 sq meters
• Contact positions: 33
• Remote positions: 20 (34 Before New T2 was built)
• Number of jetways: 32
• Number of airside halls: 10 (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J)
• Number of landside (check-in) halls: 9 (A1, A2, B, C, D, D1, F1, F2, F3)
• Number of mobile-lounges: 11 (A7-A, A7-B, A7-C, A9-A, A9-B, A9-C, A9-D, A9-E, F19-A, F19-C, F19-D)
• Hotel service: 600 rooms (Camino Real), 110 rooms (Hilton)
• Parking service: 3,100 vehicles (Domestic), 2,400 vehicles (International)
• Space per passenger in T1: 17 sq meters
• Number of baggage claiming carousels: 22
• Premium Lounges in T1: Salón Premier Internacional T1 (Aeroméxico), Red Carpet Club (United Airlines), Admirals Club (American Airlines), American Express Lounge (American Express), Elite Lounge Nacional (Mexicana), Elite Lounge Internacional (Mexicana).

[edit] Old Terminal 2 (Built in 2001)

• Overall terminal surface: 3,680 sq meters
• Contact positions: 3
• Remote positions: 6
• Number of jetways: None
• Number of airside halls: 1
• Number of landside (check-in) halls: 1 (A)
• Hotel service: None
• Parking service: 140 vehicles
• Space per passenger in T2: 14 sq meters
• Number of baggage claiming carousels: 2
• Premium Lounges in T2: Club Diamante (Aeromar).

[edit] New Terminal 2 (Built in 2007)

• Overall terminal surface: 242,000 sq meters
• Contact positions: 23
• Remote positions: 17 (Aeromar)
• Number of jetways: 23
• Number of airside halls: 2 (Domestic, International)
• Number of landside (check-in) halls: 3 (L1, L2, L3)
• Hotel service: 300 rooms (NH)
• Parking service: 3,000 vehicles
• Space per passenger in T2: 22 sq meters
• Number of baggage claiming carousels: 15
• Premium Lounges in T2: Club Diamante (Aeromar), Salón Premier (Aeroméxico), Salón Premier Internacional T2 (Aeroméxico), Riedel Wine Room (Aeroméxico).
• Platform surface: 426,000 sq meters
• Inter-terminal Aerotrén capacity: 7,800 daily passengers

[edit] Traffic Statistics

Busiest International Routes out of Mexico City International Airport (2008) ^[6]

Rank	City	Passengers
1	Los Angeles, California	428,466
2	New York, New York (JFK)	307,332
3	Houston, Texas	303,413
4	Miami, Florida	280,897
5	Madrid, Spain	254,429
6	Dallas, Texas	230,906
7	Paris, France	223,128
8	Chicago, Illinois	218,840
9	Atlanta, Georgia	158,339
10	Panama, Panama	134,819
11	Guatemala City, Guatemala	117,248
12	Bogota, Colombia	113,710
13	Toronto, Canada	112,375
14	Frankfurt, Germany	109,585
15	Amsterdam, Netherlands	94,737

Busiest Domestic Routes out of Mexico City International Airport (2008) ^[7]

Rank	City	Passengers
1	Monterrey, Nuevo León	1,528,200
2	Cancún, Quintana Roo	1,197,467
3	Guadalajara, Jalisco	1,020,813
4	Tijuana, Baja California	624,910
5	Mérida, Yucatán	568,904
6	Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Chiapas	526,801
7	Acapulco, Guerrero	449,999
8	Villahermosa, Tabasco	434,625
9	Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco	417,161
10	Culiacán, Sinaloa	407,431

[edit] Airlines and Destinations

[edit] Terminal 1 (T1)

[edit] Domestic Building (Gates A1 to E18)

Airlines	Destinations
Aviacsa	Acapulco, Cancún, Chetumal, Ciudad Juárez, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Mérida, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta, Tampico, Tapachula, Tijuana, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Veracruz, Villahermosa
Interjet	Cancún, Ciudad del Carmen, Ciudad Juárez, Ciudad Obregón, Culiacán, Durango, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Los Cabos, Los Mochis, Monterrey, Tampico, Tijuana, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Veracruz
Magnicharters	Cancún, Huatulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Los Cabos, Manzanillo, Mérida, Monterrey, Puerto Vallarta
Mexicana	Cancún, Guadalajara, Los Cabos, Mexicali, Monterrey, Tijuana
MexicanaClick	Acapulco, Chetumal, Ciudad del Carmen, Cozumel [seasonal], Culiacán, Guadalajara, Huatulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, León, Los Cabos, Manzanillo, Mazatlán, Mérida, Mexicali, Minatitlán/Coatzacoalcos, Nuevo Laredo, Oaxaca, Puerto Escondido, Puerto Vallarta, Reynosa, Saltillo, San Luis Potosí, Tampico, Torreón/Gómez Palacio, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Veracruz, Villahermosa, Zacatecas

[edit] International Building (Gates F19 to H36-A)

Airlines	Destinations
Air Canada	Montréal-Trudeau, Toronto-Pearson
Air Comet	Madrid [begins December 1][8]
Air France	Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Alaska Airlines	Los Angeles
American Airlines	Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami
Avianca	Bogotá
Aviateca	Guatemala City
British Airways	London-Heathrow
Cubana de Aviación	Havana
Iberia	Madrid
Japan Airlines	Tokyo-Narita, Vancouver
KLM	Amsterdam
Lacsa	San José de Costa Rica
Lufthansa	Frankfurt
Mexicana	Bogotá, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Calgary, Caracas, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Edmonton, Guatemala City, Havana, Las Vegas, London-Gatwick, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, Montréal-Trudeau, New York-JFK, Orlando, Panama City, Sacramento, San Antonio, San Francisco, San José de Costa Rica, San Salvador, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver
TACA	San Salvador
United Airlines	Chicago O'Hare, Denver [seasonal], Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington-Dulles
US Airways	Charlotte, Phoenix

[edit] Terminal 2 (T2) SkyTeam

Terminal 2 is now housing all Aeroméxico flights out of the airport, becoming the airline's main distribution center. Although the terminal was intended to be served by all-SkyTeam member airlines, Air France and KLM are not moving their operations until the new cargo terminal is built aside Terminal 2, since the existing one is at the other side of the airport.

[edit] South Domestic Pier (Gates 63 to 75-F)

Airlines	Destinations
Aeromar	Acapulco, Aguascalientes, Ciudad Victoria, Colima, Lázaro Cárdenas, Manzanillo, Minatitlán/Coatzacoalcos, Morelia, Poza Rica, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Tepic, Xalapa, Zacatecas
Aeroméxico	Acapulco, Aguascalientes, Cancún, Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, Culiacán, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, León/El Bajío, Los Cabos, Mérida, Monterrey, Puerto Vallarta, Tijuana, Torreón/Gómez Palacio, Villahermosa, Zacatecas [begins August 11][9]
Aeroméxico Connect	Acapulco, Aguascalientes, Campeche, Chihuahua, Ciudad del Carmen, Ciudad Obregón, Ciudad Victoria, Cozumel [begins July 9], Culiacán, Durango, Guadalajara, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, La Paz, León/Bajío, Los Mochis, Matamoros, Mazatlán, Mérida, Monterrey, Morelia, Nuevo Laredo, Oaxaca, Poza Rica, Puerto Vallarta, Reynosa, San Luis Potosí, Tampico, Tapachula, Tijuana, Torreón/Gómez Palacio, Veracruz, Villahermosa
Aeroméxico Travel	Cancún, Cozumel, Huatulco, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta

[edit] North International Pier (Gates 52 to 62)

Airlines	Destinations
Aeroméxico	Barcelona, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Chicago-O'Hare, Denver [seasonal; begins December 18] [10], Houston-Intercontinental, Las Vegas, Lima, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, Montreal-Trudeau, New York-JFK, Ontario (CA), Orlando, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Phoenix, Salt Lake City [seasonal; begins November 26], San Diego, San Francisco, Santiago de Chile, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Seattle/Tacoma, Tokyo-Narita, Toronto-Pearson
Aeroméxico Connect	Houston-Intercontinental, Managua, New Orleans [begins July 6][11], San Antonio, San Pedro Sula
Aeroméxico Travel	Punta Cana
Continental Airlines	Houston-Intercontinental, Newark
Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines	Houston-Intercontinental
Copa Airlines	Panama City
Delta Air Lines	Atlanta, New York-JFK, Orlando [seasonal], Salt Lake City
LAN Airlines	Santiago de Chile
LAN Peru	Lima
Northwest Airlines	Detroit

[edit] Cargo Terminal

[edit] Cargo Airlines at MCIA

Airlines	Destinations
Aeropostal Cargo de México
Aerounión	Chicago-O'Hare, Guadalajara, Los Angeles
Air Cargo Carriers
Air France Cargo	Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Air Transport International
Amerijet International	Guadalajara, Miami, Monterrey
Ameristar Jet Charter
Astar Air Cargo	Miami
Atlas Air
Cargolux	Houston-Intercontinental, Luxemburg
Centurion Air Cargo	Miami
Cielos Airlines
Contract Air Cargo
DHL
DHL de Guatemala	Guatemala City
Estafeta	Hermosillo, Mérida, Miami, San Luis Potosí
FedEx
Florida West International Airways	Miami
Gemini Air Cargo
Kalitta Air
Lufthansa Cargo	Dallas/Fort Worth, Frankfurt
Martinair Cargo	Amsterdam, Miami, Quito
MasAir	Bogotá, Caracas, Guadalajara, Los Angeles, Medellín, Miami, Quito
Regional Cargo	Cancún, Mérida
Tampa Cargo	Bogotá
UPS
USA Jet Airlines
World Airways	Milan-Malpensa

[edit] Ground transportation

[edit] Metro and bus services

The airport is served by the Terminal Aérea Metro station, located just outside the national terminal; it also has a Bus Terminal, which is served by various bus lines [1] with routes to Cuernavaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Toluca, Pachuca, and Córdoba. Whilst the airport always had a bus area, the terminal building itself was created in 2003, to accommodate the many passengers that utilise bus service.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Mexico City International Airport
  • Photo Gallery of Mexico City International Airport
• Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares Homepage
  • New Terminal 2 Video
• Information about Mexico City Airport
• Current weather for MMMX at NOAA/NWS
• Accident history for MEX at Aviation Safety Network