AMLO’s plan to revive Mexicana Airline inches closer in congress

A bill that will allow the Mexican government to operate its own airline is likely to be approved by congress this week, Senate majority leader Ricardo Monreal said in an interview. The legislation would give President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador a chance to revive defunct carrier Mexicana de Aviacion to, as he has said, lower ticket prices and increase competition in the sector. The bill is the most likely to sail through before congress’s multimonth recess starts in May and also includes a provision that would allow the government to operate airports. That would mean the army could operate both an airline and the airport into which it would fly, creating a conflict of interest and potentially unfair market practices for other airlines. The legislation also modifies the structure of the Mexican aviation authority, AFAC, one of the requirements for the country to recover its air-safety rating from the US FAA. A more controversial mining reform and a “mega” administrative reform that would allow the government to end contracts without compensating companies may have to wait until September, Monreal said. The aerospace legislation could affect existing airport operators Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte, Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico and Grupo Aeroportuario del Sureste, which control the majority of the country’s hubs. But lawmakers will seek to meet with them before drafting the bill’s bylaws to avoid lawsuits and court battles, Monreal, the leader of the Morena ruling party in the Senate, said. Recovering the country’s so-called Category 1 rating is important for Mexican airlines, which haven’t been able to add routes or flights to the US since the downgrade in 2021.<br/>