They travel little by plane – Diario de Yucatán

MEXICO CITY (El Universal).— The Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association (ALTA) presented a report on passenger traffic in Mexico, highlighting that in 2023 the number grew 10.6%, the number of seats 8% and flights operated 4.3%.

“However, on average, Mexicans fly less than once a year, so there is still a lot of work to do,” said José Ricardo Botelho, executive director of ALTA.

Last year, Mexico transported 118.1 million passengers, 10.6% more than in 2022, the highest figure in its history. 54% of air traffic was domestic passengers, positioning Mexico as the second local market in Latin America, behind Brazil.

“The Mexican air market still has enormous potential: its per capita trip indicator stands at 0.87 trips per person, higher than the regional average of 0.6 trips/capita, but almost three times lower than its neighbor United States of 2.53 trips/capita. . This is an industry that has created 72 new post-pandemic routes, but it can still grow much more,” Botelho said.

According to the director of ALTA, there are aspects that work against the sustained growth of the airline industry in the country, such as the high cost of taxes, the lack of investment in airports, among other aspects that disadvantage the performance of a sector. key for international tourism, which contributes 15% of GDP and 12.2% of jobs in Mexico.

“In Mexico, an average of $104 is paid in international fees and taxes, plus 4% in base fare taxes, positioning the country as the third in the region where passengers pay the most in total fees and taxes, only after Argentina and Jamaica.

This 2024, the AICM Airport Use Fee (TUA) increased 3.2%, becoming one of the highest in the world.

The TUA is a charge that airports make to passengers for using their facilities, it is a fee that can represent up to 60% of the cost of a plane ticket, according to the business model of each airline,” he added. .

Infrastructure is also another challenge, as it is considered insufficient to meet the demand for flights, causing congestion at airports and limiting growth potential.

“In addition, there is a level of legal uncertainty surrounding Mexico’s air market, which affects investment and long-term planning,” Botelho said.

In 2023, 42.2 million tourists visited Mexico, generating a contribution of 30,809 million dollars to the Mexican economy. Of the total number of tourists, 20.3 million entered by air and contributed 90% of the total foreign currency that entered the country through tourism.

The ALTA Aviation Insight Mexico report highlights that Cancun Airport was the largest in Mexico’s international market, with 24.9 million available seats and 19.8 million passengers in 2023.

The Cancún–Dallas Fort Worth route was the one with the highest international traffic in Mexico, with 1.1 million passengers and 1.4 million active seats in 2023. While the Mexico City-Cancún route was the one with the greatest demand in the domestic market, with 4.5 million passengers and 5 million seats.

Volaris led the domestic market with 30.2 million passengers and a 26% market share. Aeroméxico transported 24.9 million passengers, representing 21% of the market, followed by VivaAerobus with 22.8 million passengers and 19% of the market.