JDiver

For further information see MEX - Mexico City International Airport master thread

WEBSITE: http://www.aicm.com.mx/home_en.php (English language version)

FLIGHT INFORMATION: http://www.aicm.com.mx/informacional.../fids/fids.php

CONNECTIONS: Check to see if you need to connect between terminals, and allow time for that. MEX can be easy, or very congested - reports of 20 minutes to 2 hours to process can be read here, and some of that depends on whether you must change terminals or whether you must walk from one end of the very long Terminal 1 to the other. I would personally say two hours is minimum connect time, more on days / times predicted for congestion.

Aerotrén / Air Train: The airside elevated APM (Automated People Mover) Aerotrén moves only those connecting passengers with boarding passes or proof of flight and identification documents between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. It consists of two to four cars, 25 passenger (with baggage and hand carry) capacity per train, travels at 28 MPH / 45 kph over the 1.9 mi / 3 km range. Time en route is 4:40, dwell time in each terminal is 60 seconds, time between trains is 10:45.

Landside red shuttle busses operate 05:00 (am) to 01:00 (am), also used during Aerotrén breakdowns, are labeled ""Transportación entre Terminales"; the stops are at entrance No. 6 of Terminal 1 and entrance No. 4 of Terminal 2. They are air conditioned, have luggage spaces and are wheelchair-accessible.

Major airlines by Terminal:

Aeroméxico: #2
American: #1
British Airways/Air Canada/Air France: #1
Continental: #2
United: #1
US Airways: #1

yulmichael

I'm flying on MX , YUL-MEX-GUA in dec.
When I originally booked the flts , the connection time in MEX was 2hrs &20mints.
Now MX has changed the timing of the flts and I only have 1hr &20mints for connections
in MEX.
I know that I also have to go through immigration on arrival at MEX.
I called MX reserv. and was told that 1hr & 20mints. connex. time is enough.
Appreciate your opinion.

Michael

UNITED959

Get that changed.

MEX is the biggest cluster---- known to man. I have flown in and out of there more than 100x; 95% of my flights landed on-time, but probably 85% of them were DELAYED ARRIVALS because we had to wait for a moonbuggy or a gate to open.

There is no sense of urgency among the service workers at that airport.

I would never schedule a connection at MEX for under 2 hours. And if my connecting flight was the last one of the day, I'd want a 3 hour connection because my desire to overnight at MEX is slightly below sleeping with a rattlesnake.

yulmichael

Thank you very much for the info.My connecting flt. is the last one of the 2 daily flts
MEX-GUA.
I'll try to change my flts.
Thanks again
Michael

Xericx

since you're on Mexicana, you'll be in terminal 1...which sucks because its a looooooong hallway. There's a reason they have hotels built into the airports.....

really depends on customs but its cutting it close.

I've personally never missed a flight there (I once ran about 1/2 mile through the airport and got to the gate as they were closing the door). Most of my connections are 1 hour, 45 minutes....and its just about right (I actually tend to not fly mexicana due to them being at terminal 1).

BUT a lot of people miss flights due to:

1. Deplaning takes forever as mentioned above. Very casual, nonchalant and sometimes a wait. It really sucks when you have to tram it.

2. Immigration line can sometimes take 30-40 minutes. Then you go up a staircase, through a hallway, then have to go through a security checkpoint, then another hallway and dumped in the middle of the terminal.

3. The gates are very confusing. They tell you to go to one gate but its really a help desk where they direct you to another gate. They only announce the gate with 30 min or so...and change it. Its very odd.

sbtinme

I'm posting here to help others who might be looking for clarification on connections in MEX.

I was increasingly nervous about a recent trip to PVR because there was such an astronomical amount of bad info out there regarding almost everything about immigration process into MEX and connections at MEX airport.

Yes, everyone has a somewhat different experience, but I'll share mine in hopes that it can be helpful to others.

My trip was ATL-MEX-PVR. Inbound on DL connecting to AM, which means terminal T2, of course.

For starters, let me say it was a total breeze. From what I could tell, all inbound pax making connections to domestic Mexico flights did *NOT* have to claim bags in MEX to clear customs. That may have been the old process, but our bags were checked all the way to PVR and when we landed, they made an announcement to all pax that connecting bags would be sent through to the final destination.

So, we cleared immigration and customs with everyone else and it took about 4 minutes from start to finish! I was prepared for a 90 minute fiasco, but when we landed (around 3pm), the place was very quiet and no lines.

Once we had cleared, we had to actually walk out of the secured area and into the lobby of the airport itself -- as if we were arriving at the airport via car and then walk back up to the second floor for domestic departures.

There, we cleared Mexican security (took 4 minutes) and we were -- wham -- in the Aeromexico T2 gates in no time.

Seriously, from the moment we stepped off the DL plane until we were waiting at the AM gate might've been 25 minutes. All that concern and worry for naught.

Yes, I'm sure that there are certain days where the lines are longer and the process is less efficient than what we experienced. But I needed to post that our experience was so overwhelmingly efficient and positive -- in hopes that it might allay others' fears down the road.

Buen viaje!

YVR Cockroach

You are lucky that immigration was empty when you arrived. My experience late last year (T2) was about 20-30 minutes wait at immigration at around 1-130p arrival (many east coast flights), and about the same for a 6-630a arrival (S. American flights) and we were one of the first off our flights too. Customs and other processes weren't an issue. YMMV on this one.

Open Jaw

I never can tell how long I will need to pass through MEX. Sometimes there are no lines while other times it's a zoo. I always plan for the worst and hope for the best.

Bob'sYourUncle

Another thing to add it that T2 is new, and built so that everyone arriving is automatically sent to immigration & customs.

In T1, on the other hand, arriving and departing passenger still mix, and if you're arriving, you're supposed to take it upon yourself to go and find the transit immigration checkpoint... As this is not explained to people, it seems like it's disorganized (and it is...)

At least with T2 now the immense shortage of gates and parking positions at the formerly sole terminal has been relieved somewhat (still don't understand why they haven't moved the rest of SkyTeam over, and if CO is moving back to T1).

sbtinme

Certainly all fair statements and I'm SURE that it's not always as easy as we experienced, but I posted it simply to allay some of the concerns that others have had over the past year. (I've received about ten private messages on this topic alone!)

FWIW, on the day we arrived in MEX, they were not even using the red light/green light button! Everyone simply got a free pass. I'd never seen that before in MEX. We loved T2 and we completely delighted with how smoothly the process went for us.

Our last time in MEX was in T1 and it was a complete fiasco. 90 minute wait in line, people everywhere, completely inefficiency, etc.

GUWonder

For international T1-T1 connections, it's anything from 20 minutes to two hours to be ready to travel onwards. Friday nights at around 7:30 p.m. are amongst the worst times to have to pull such a transfer.

Richie D.

I didn't want to bring this back up, but anyway: I'm flying SJO-MEX-FRA-HAM on the 19th because I'm moving back to Hamburg, and I'm told that because the flight arrives from Central America, that I HAVE to go through customs. My flights are MX 378 SJO-MEX, LH 499 MEX-FRA and LH 18 FRA-HAM (all on a single Lufthansa ticket), and I intend to check my bags all the way through to HAM.

I was previously told that I would not need to go through customs of my bags are checked through, but if I do have to go through customs, but if I do have to go through customs, even though it's an international-to-international connection in T1, I fear that this could cost me valuable time, and I only have a 1 hour 40 minute layover, where in the worst case I'd have to go through immigration (I was already aware of that), go through customs, run to the check-in counter to get my boarding pass (as I'm told that my boarding pass for MEX-FRA would not be issued to me in SJO) and get my luggage back on the belt, make it back to security, and hope that I made it in time for boarding.

If I didn't have to go through customs, then I'd just have to go through immigration, get to the gate so they can issue me my boarding pass and perhaps grab something to eat at one of the expensive airside diners before boarding. So can anyone confirm whether I have to go through customs at MEX during my transit because of my inbound flight coming from Central America (specifically SJO)? Thank you in advance.

skyteamelite

I'll be flying AF from CDG to MEX and then connecting onward from MEX to CUN on AM. First time flying into MEX.

I assume I will be going through immigration at MEX and then entering the domestic section of the airport. But how about customs? Is it like arriving in the US from an international flight - i.e. do I have to collect my checked luggage in MEX, go through customs and then re-check the luggage for the MEX-CUN flight?

If this is the case, it may actually play in my favour. I have a pretty long layover between the CDG-MEX and the MEX-CUN flights and I know there is an earlier AM flight from MEX to CUN that I would love to take if I arrive to MEX on time, immigration/customs don't take too long and there is no checked baggage problem.

I'd be grateful for any advice fellow FTs may have on this!

Best,
skyteamelite

itsme110

It´s always good to check when you land, but unless things have changed in the last month or so, here is the procedure. You will get off the plane, and follow the line to Mexican Immigration. The line splits in two.........one for nationals, and one for foreigners. You have to fill out the form, and go through the line, and talk to the immigration official. You then exit the area and that is it.
Your bags will go go CUN. When you get to CUN, you will pick them up. Since some of the people on your AM flight will be using it as a domestic flight, and some as the conclusion of an inernational flight, you will notice in the luggage area, that some of the bags (yours included) will have a tag on them. This means that when you get to the exit door, you will be screened by Aduana (customs), and be asked to push a button for a green light or red light.
It is actually a great procedure, since the ´double claiming´ of bags on international flights is a huge waste of time and manpower.
If you want to try the ´move up´ strategy, then I think AF may be able to check your bags only to MEX. Then you will have to pick them up, clear customs in MEX, and re-check them with AM. I believe that AF and MEX are partners, so that shouldn´t be a problem, albeit time consuming. Have a great time in Cancun.

itsme110

With your AF status, can´t you talk the Agents at CDG into moving your connection to the earlier flight. If you miss the early one, they will re-ticket you to the late one anyway. In that scenario, the luggage will be on the first light. If it doesn´t make the connection, make sure you take a bathing suit in your carry on, and let them figure out how to get the luggage to CUN