The US Department of Transportation has canceled 13 current or planned routes of Mexican airlines from Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) and Mexico City International Airport (AICM) to its territory. This action responds to Mexico's non-compliance with the 2015 bilateral aviation agreement, as announced by Secretary Sean Duffy. It affects Viva Aerobus, Aeroméxico, and its subsidiary Connect, impacting flights to cities like Houston, New York, and Los Angeles.
The US government, under the Donald Trump administration, issued an order on Tuesday night prohibiting Mexican airlines from expanding or operating new routes from Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA, code NLU) and Mexico City International Airport (AICM, MEX) to any point in US territory until further notice. This decision by the Department of Transportation (DOT) affects 13 routes, including nine planned Viva Aerobus flights to Austin (AUS), New York (JFK), Chicago (ORD), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Denver (DEN), Houston (IAH), Los Angeles (LAX), Miami (MIA), and Orlando (MCO), which cannot proceed. It also disapproves existing routes by Aeroméxico and Aeroméxico Connect between AIFA and Houston, as well as AIFA and McAllen, and the announced new route to Puerto Rico.
The measure stems from Mexico's 'ongoing non-compliance' with the 2015 bilateral air transport agreement, which has harmed US airlines. The DOT cites the reduction of operations at AICM from 61 to 44 hourly slots and the suspension of cargo flights, freezing US airlines' traffic rights for three years. 'The Department disapproves all proposed schedules that the aforementioned foreign air carriers may subsequently file in response to Order 2025-7-11 for any proposed increase in the frequency of existing services between Santa Lucía (NLU) or Mexico City (MEX), on the one hand, and any point in the United States, on the other, until further notice,' the order states.
Secretary Sean Duffy emphasized: 'Until Mexico stops playing games and complies with its commitments, we will continue to hold it accountable.' He added: 'No country should be able to take advantage of our airlines, our market, or our passengers without consequences.' Although Mexico's Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation (SICT) recently returned the confiscated slots, uncertainty remains about future capacity at AICM and an opaque slot allocation system, per the DOT. This creates an unstable competitive environment for US airlines and impacts Mexican international tourism.