Aviation History
Mexico has one of the oldest aviation traditions in the Americas: Mexicana de Aviación was founded in 1921, and Aeronaves de México, later Aeroméxico, followed in 1934 and eventually became the flag carrier. Both major airlines passed through periods of state control and privatization amid Mexico's economic upheavals of the 1980s, and the 2000s brought a wave of low-cost carriers that reshaped domestic travel. The industry has also weathered major shocks, including Mexicana's 2010 bankruptcy after 89 years of operation and Aeroméxico's 2020-2022 Chapter 11 restructuring during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regulatory oversight has been a recurring theme: the US FAA downgraded Mexico's safety rating in 2021 (restored in 2023), and Mexico City's airport infrastructure was reshaped when the partially built NAICM project was cancelled in 2018 in favor of the military-operated AIFA, which opened in 2022.
Compañía Mexicana de Aviación (CMA) was established, becoming one of the oldest continuously recognized airline brands in the Americas.
The airline that would become Aeroméxico was founded, later growing into Mexico's flag carrier.
Following a period of state intervention during Mexico's 1980s debt crisis, Mexicana and Aeroméxico were restructured and returned to private ownership.
Volaris began operations as one of Mexico's first ultra-low-cost carriers, part of a wave that included Interjet and expanded affordable domestic air travel.
Mexicana, one of the world's oldest airlines, shut down amid bankruptcy after 89 years of continuous operation.
Aeroméxico sought US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection amid pandemic-driven losses, emerging restructured with new ownership in 2022.
The US FAA lowered Mexico's aviation safety rating over oversight deficiencies, restricting Mexican carriers from adding new US routes; the rating was restored to Category 1 in 2023.
A new Mexico City-area airport built and operated by the military opened, after the earlier NAICM project at Texcoco was cancelled in 2018.
Aeroméxico · Volaris · Viva Aerobus · Interjet (defunct) · Mexicana de Aviación (historic; relaunched 2023 under new ownership)
General aviation-history and news sources; Mexico's FAA safety category, AIFA traffic growth, and the relaunched Mexicana's operating status are time-sensitive and should be reverified for the latest status.
Aviation Firsts
Mexico City International Airport (Balbuena site) — Mexico City (1915): Site known as Llanos de Balbuena: aviation use from 1910; opened as a military airport in 1915; small civilian airport opened 1928; officially inaugurated 15 May 1931; regular commercial service began 1929. No source explicitly states this is Mexico's oldest airport overall versus provincial fields — it is simply the earliest well-documented Mexican airport found. · MEX ↗ · Wikipedia ↗
Compañía Mexicana de Aviación (Mexicana) (1921): Founded 12 July 1921, operations began 30 August 1921 — called Mexico's oldest airline and 'North America's oldest airline operating under the same name.' Ceased operations 28 August 2010. Relaunched December 2023 as a new, separately-owned entity (state-owned by Mexico's Ministry of Defense, SEDENA) using the Mexicana brand — a 13-year gap and a different legal entity/owner, not unbroken continuity. · MX ↗ · Wikipedia ↗
Swissport (Switzerland): Swissport's company history states that by 2000 it had opened, acquired, or bought into ground-handling units in Mexico among several other countries — no more precise year is given. An earlier foreign entrant is plausible but undocumented. (best-documented candidate found — not source-confirmed as literally first.) · FundingUniverse ↗
Aviation Museums1
Fleet by Operator
Passengers by Operator
Annual Passenger Traffic by Airport
Airlines13
Live Air Traffic2 aircraft
Source: adsb.lol — community ADS-B network. Busiest of this country’s top 6 profiled airports by traffic right now, not a full national count.
Aircraft Spotted Here
Photos © their respective photographers, via JetPhotos.com — click a photo to view the original.