Mexico City Just Cancelled Plans For A New Airport

The new airport project was a hot topic for Mexico’s travel industry. However, voters just rejected its most recent proposal that would have come with a price tag of $13 billion and make it the largest airport in the Americas. The result of the vote means that airlines serving Mexico may not be able to expand service in the ways that they were planning.

Only around 1 percent of residents actually voted regarding the fate of Mexico City’s proposed airport project. However, 69 percent of those who did vote were not in favor of the project moving forward. That news came as a disappointment to many of the big player’s in Mexico’s travel industry.

Copa Airlines, Avianca and LATAM have all come out to say that the result of the vote will make it difficult to continue to serve Mexico City. And canceling the project does not come without a cost. It is expected that billions of pesos will be lost as a result of the cancellation and Mexico’s currency and stock market both saw dips following the vote.

Disappointment over the result of the vote extends far beyond Mexico. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) just released a statement disagreeing with the outcome and included a warning that the project’s abandonment could have negative long-term implications for Mexico’s economic growth.

Is the airport project that was planned for Mexico City officially abandoned forever just because voters rejected it? Not exactly. The reality is that the vote is actually considered to be a public consultation. The outcome of the vote stands on a non-binding basis.

That means that the country’s president could still allow plans for the airport project to go forward. However, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has already stated that he will respect the results of the voting process. Mexico does have other options for expanding the amount of passenger traffic the Mexico City area can handle. An alternative plan would see Mexico’s government adding new public terminals and runways to the Santa Lucia military airport in the region.

[Image: Wikimedia Commons]