Mexico City International Airport
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| Mexico City International Airport |
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| IATA: MEX - ICAO: MMMX | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | public | ||
| Operator | Grupo Aeroportuario de la Ciudad de México | ||
| Serves | Mexico City | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 7,342 ft (2,238 m) | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 05R/23L | 12,795 | 3,900 | Paved |
| 05L/23R | 12,966 | 3,952 | Paved |
The Mexico City International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México or AICM), also called Benito Juárez International Airport (IATA: MEX, ICAO: MMMX) serves Mexico City, the capital of Mexico. 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 airport offers direct flights to more than 100 destinations worldwide.
AICM is Mexico's and Latin America's busiest airport, and is one of the 30 most important airports worldwide in terms of passengers, operations, and cargo. The airport, comprises a wide variety of options for passengers, as one hotel inside Terminal 1 (Hilton, and two adjacent hotels: Camino Real, and JR Inn), as another one is expected in Terminal 2.
Plans to build a second, auxiliary airport in either Texcoco (State of Mexico) or Tizayuca (Hidalgo) were floated by the government in 2001–02, but these were later shelved due to resistance from local farmers dissatisfied with the price offered for their land. Because of this, the AICM (Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México) is undergoing major construction work, including new concourses in the Terminal 1 (concourse E), and a new terminal, Terminal 2 (T2), this to handle an additional 12 million passengers each year, from the current 24 million served in Terminal 1. With the opening of T2 it will be the first Latin American airport capable of handling the Airbus A380.
Expansion of Terminal 1 has already been achieved, incluiding a brand new International Concourse(F), new aisles to increase the flow of passengers, the division of arrivals and departures on different levels, a new corridor that connects the H concourse to the F check-in areas (J) with new Duty Free shopping areas, the construction of a new level on the Domestic side of the building, and the new hall on the landside of the Domestic check-in areas, the expansion of internal hall B, as 15 more conveyors for baggage claiming on halls E3, E4, and C2. Also the remodeling on the outer image from both, airside and landside parts of the terminals, and interiors.
The airport will be able to compete with world's major airports, as to offer any service available at an airport. The construction of Terminal 2, means the introduction of a new kind of service in the country, since it will be, together with Monterrey's Terminal A, Mexico's most modern air facility, as the introduction of inter-terminal transportation in Mexico City. After Terminal 2 is fully operative, airplanes landing on the right runways will use the right terminal, and viceversa, reducing by almost 10 minutes, the time per airplane from its landing to the parking at the contact position.
When the major construction works end, the airport will count with 59 boarding gates, as well as 31 remote positions, for a total of 90 parking positions for aircraft serving the airport.
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.
Contents |
[edit] Terminals, airlines and destinations
[edit] Terminal 1
[edit] Domestic Hall
- Hall B
- Aero California (Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, Ciudad Obregón, Colima, Culiacán, Durango, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, La Paz, Los Mochis, Mazatlán, Mérida, Monterrey, Tampico, Tepic, Tijuana, Torreón, Veracruz)
- Mexicana (Acapulco, Cancún, Ciudad Juárez [starts May 1, 2007], Ciudad Victoria [starts June 1, 2007], Culiacán, Guadalajara, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Los Cabos, Mazatlán, Mérida, Mexicali, Minatitlán/Coatzacoalcos, Monterrey, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta, Tampico, Tijuana, Veracruz, Villahermosa, Zacatecas)
- Click Mexicana (Aguascalientes, Cancún, Chetumal, Ciudad del Carmen, Cozumel, Huatulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, León, Guadalajara, Mérida, Nuevo Laredo, Oaxaca, Puerto Escondido, Saltillo, San Luis Potosí, Torreón, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Villahermosa)
- Hall C
- Aviacsa (Acapulco, Cancún, Chetumal, Ciudad Juárez, Culiacán, Durango, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, León, Mérida, Mexicali, Monterrey, Morelia, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta, Tampico, Tapachula, Tepic, Tijuana, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Veracruz, Villahermosa)
- Hall D1
- Aeromar (Campeche, Ciudad Victoria, Colima, Guadalajara, Jalapa, Lázaro Cárdenas, Manzanillo, Minatitlán/Coatzacoalcos, Monterrey, Morelia, Poza Rica, Puebla, Queretaro, Reynosa, San Luis Potosí, Tepic, Zacatecas)
- Líneas Aéreas Azteca (Acapulco, Aguascalientes, Cancún, Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, Culiacán, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Mexicali, Monterrey, Morelia, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta, Tijuana, Uruapan, Zacatecas)
- Hall D2
- Magnicharters (Cancún, Huatulco, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Los Cabos, Manzanillo, Mérida, Puerto Vallarta)
- Nova Air (Acapulco, Cancún, Mérida, Puerto Vallarta, Toluca, Veracruz)
[edit] International Hall
- Hall F1
- Aerolíneas Argentinas (Buenos Aires-Ezeiza)
- Copa Airlines (Panama City)
- Hall F2
- Air Canada (Montréal, Toronto-Pearson)
- Lufthansa (Frankfurt)
- Mexicana (Baltimore/Washington, Bogotá, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Caracas, Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Fresno, Guatemala City, Havana, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Montréal, New York-JFK, Oakland, Portland (OR), San Antonio, San Francisco, San Jose (CA), San José (CR), San Salvador, Sacramento, Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver)
- United Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Denver [seasonal], Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington-Dulles)
- Hall F3
- Alaska Airlines (Los Angeles)
- American Airlines (Chicago-O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami)
- Aviacsa (Houston-Intercontinental, Las Vegas)
- Avianca (Bogotá)
- British Airways (London-Heathrow)
- Cubana de Aviación (Havana)
- Iberia (Madrid)
- Japan Airlines (Tokyo-Narita, Vancouver)
- LAN Airlines (Santiago de Chile)
- LAN Peru (Lima)
- Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (Panama City, Santa Cruz de la Sierra)
- TACA (Guatemala City, San Salvador)
- Lacsa (San Jose (CR))
- US Airways (Charlotte)
- US Airways operated by America West Airlines (Phoenix)
[edit] Terminal 2
Although T2 was originally planned to be inaugurated on November 30th, 2006, delays have caused it to still be under construction. When opened, it will house the international and domestic destinations of SkyTeam member airlines flying into Mexico City, including Aeroméxico's destinations. T2 will comprise two concourses, A for domestic operations, and B for international flights, meaning that Halls A and F1 as Concourse H (Gates H29-H36A) in Terminal 1, will be free for other airlines to operate. A famous architect that built some skyscrapers in the Santa Fe Area, Mexico City, is designing the new Aeroméxico's Salon Premier Lounges, state-of-the-art facilities, that will provide the airline's Business-First passengers the best spaces possible.
The following airlines will operate from terminal 2:
Domestic Concourse A:
- Aeroméxico (Acapulco, Aguascalientes, Cancún, Chihuahua, Ciudad Juárez, Culiacán, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, La Paz, León, Los Cabos, Matamoros, Mazatlán, Mérida, Monterrey, Puerto Vallarta, Reynosa, Tapachula, Tijuana, Torreón, Villahermosa)
- Aerolitoral (Campeche, Ciudad del Carmen, Ciudad Obregón, Durango, La Paz, Los Mochis, Oaxaca, Tampico, Torreón, Veracruz)
International Concourse B:
- Aeroméxico (Austin, Boston, Buenos Aires-Ezeiza, Chicago-O'Hare, Fort Lauderdale, Houston-Intercontinental, Las Vegas, Lima, Los Angeles, Madrid, Miami, New York-JFK, Ontario (CA), Orlando, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Phoenix, San Antonio, San Diego, Santiago de Chile, São Paulo-Guarulhos, Tokyo-Narita)
- Air France (Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
- Continental Airlines (Houston-Intercontinental, Newark)
- Continental Express operated by ExpressJet Airlines (Houston-Intercontinental, McAllen)
- Delta Air Lines (Atlanta, New York-JFK, Orlando, Salt Lake City)
- KLM (Amsterdam)
- Northwest Airlines (Detroit)
[edit] Former routes
- Aeroflot (Moscow-Sheremetyevo)
- Aerolíneas Argentinas (Bogotá, Lima)
- Aeroméxico (Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Frankfurt, Montréal, Panama City, Rome-Fiumicino, Salt Lake City, Toronto-Pearson)
- Aeroperú (Lima)
- Alitalia (Milan-Malpensa, Rome-Fiumicino)
- Canadian Airlines (Montréal, Toronto-Pearson, Vancouver)
- CSA Czech Airlines (Prague)
- Eastern Air Lines (Atlanta, Miami)
- Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (Guayaquil)
- Malaysia Airlines (Kuala Lumpur, Los Angeles)
- Mexicana (Brownsville, Ciudad del Carmen*, Colima, Cozumel*, Guayaquil, Huatulco*, Ixtepec, Lima, Managua, Newark, Nuevo Laredo*, Orlando, Philadelphia, Quito, San Juan (PR), Saltillo*, Santiago de Chile, Tapachula, Tuxpan, Tuxtla Gutiérrez*) *Service shifted to Click Mexicana
- Pan Am (Miami, New York-JFK, San Francisco)
- Qantas (Melbourne, Sydney)
- Swissair (Zürich)
- Trans World Airlines (St. Louis)
- Varig (Caracas, Manaus, Rio de Janeiro-Galeão, São Paulo-Guarulhos)
[edit] Metro and Bus Service
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.
