Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo announced on Wednesday morning that she has asked Foreign Minister Juan Ramón de la Fuente, head of the Secretariat of Foreign Relations (SRE), to request a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The meeting, which the head of state proposed be held in the United States, would also include U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, following the revocation of approval for 13 current or planned routes of Mexican airlines to the United States yesterday. Likewise, all combined passenger and cargo flights from Mexican airlines to the U.S. from Felipe Ángeles International Airport have been tentatively canceled. Secretary Duffy's order cancels the current or planned flights of Aeroméxico, Volaris, and Viva Aerobus. Additionally, it freezes the growth of combined passenger and cargo services—known as 'belly cargo'—for Mexican airlines between the United States and Benito Juárez International Airport. For this reason, the president was firm in rejecting the decision by the United States, even though Sheinbaum states her government attended to its neighbor's requests 'with all promptness.' In this regard, the head of state recalled that moving those flights to AIFA was a decision made for reasons of 'security and civil protection,' not arbitrarily. It put passengers and users of the Mexico City International Airport (AICM) at risk. She also highlighted, as on other occasions, that 'all companies, including American ones, are very happy,' and therefore, 'we do not agree with this decision.' Thus, and seeking to prevent this announcement from causing disruptions to the Mexican air system or future flight cancellations, she requested the SRE to communicate with Rubio so that these measures, which she described as 'unilateral,' can be reviewed. 'Let there not be some other interest behind this,' Sheinbaum said, who, without affirming anything, implied that it will be reviewed whether the decisions were made in favor of certain American companies or groups. Duffy stated that Mexico 'illegally canceled and froze flights of U.S. carriers for three years without consequences.' The Department of Transportation indicated that Mexico's continued non-compliance 'could affect the travel plans of U.S. citizens.' The measure comes after months of complaints from the U.S. government, which accuses Mexican authorities of hindering competition by withdrawing or reallocating slots at Benito Juárez International Airport and Felipe Ángeles International Airport in favor of local companies. For now, flights currently in service will continue to operate, but expansion plans could be affected in the coming months as bilateral negotiations continue.
