Felipe Ángeles International Airport

Felipe Ángeles International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional Felipe Ángeles, AIFA) is an airport in Zumpango, State of Mexico, 48.8 kilometres (30.3 mi) north-northeast of the historic center of Mexico City by car.[3] It opened on 21 March 2022,[4] as the second airport serving the Mexico City metropolitan area. Originally called Santa Lucía Airport, it was named after Felipe Ángeles (a general in the Mexican Revolution) in early 2021.[5]

"Santa Lucia Airport" redirects here. For other uses, see Santa Lucia Airport (disambiguation).
Felipe Ángeles International Airport


Aeropuerto Internacional Felipe Ángeles (AIFA)
Air control tower
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorSEDENA
ServesState of Mexico / Mexico City
LocationSanta Lucía, Zumpango, State of Mexico, Mexico
Opened21 March 2022 (2022-03-21)
Coordinates19°45′24″N 099°00′55″W
Websitewww.gob.mx/aifa aifa.aero
Map
NLU
Location of the airport in Mexico
NLU
NLU (Mexico)
NLU
NLU (North America)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
04R/22L 3,500 11,483 Concrete
04C/22C 4,500 14,764 Concrete
04L/22R 4,500 14,764 Concrete
Sources: MEX,[1] STV,[2]

Construction started on 17 October 2019, with a symbolic ceremony and a short video presentation after all judicial suspensions against the airport were revoked. Two runways and a new terminal were planned during the first phase, which was completed on 21 March 2022, as scheduled. The airport is operated by the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA), which also receives all of the airport's earnings.[6][7][8]

Construction

On 24 April 2019, Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that construction of the new airport would commence on 29 April 2019.[9] On 12 June, a judge ordered the suspension of construction of the airport until environmental and cultural studies have been completed.[10] The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) announced its approval of construction of a terminal at the new airport site on 17 July 2019. Construction officially started on 17 October 2019. President López Obrador also promised that the master plan and all information regarding the airport will be released in the coming days, saying transparency will be key in the project.[11][12]

The airport is intended to focus on low-cost and cargo airlines to help relieve congestion at Mexico City International Airport. Mexican architect Francisco González Pulido and military general Gustavo Vallejo are in charge of airport design. The master plan is in charge of Groupe ADP and the airspace navigability studies were made by Airbus subsidiary NAVBLUE.[13][14] The Valley of Mexico will be the first in the country where the performance-based navigation system (PBN) is used, which will allow the Felipe Ángeles International Airport, Mexico City International Airport and the Toluca International Airport to operate simultaneously without the operations of one impeding those of the others.[15]

Remains of at least 200 mammoths were discovered during the construction of the terminal area, in the former Lake Xaltocan.[16] Most of the newly discovered mammoths likely died after being trapped by mud in the ancient lake or hunted by other animals. Nothing was found that would require halting work on the airport project.[17][18]

Construction of the airport was considered with a higher priority than federal security. Despite social distancing and other efforts to avoid infection, at least four employees were infected with the virus and there were 37 suspected cases along with three deaths as of 9 June 2020.[19]

President López Obrador flew on the fifteen-minute Air Force inaugural flight from the Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City on 10 February 2021. He was accompanied by Luis Cresencio Sandoval González (SEDENA), Claudia Sheinbaum (head of government of Mexico City), Alfredo del Mazo (governor of the State of Mexico), Omar Fayad (governor of Hidalgo), Arturo Zaldívar (president of the Supreme Court), Dolores Padierna (vice president of the Chamber of Deputies),[20] and José Rafael Ojeda Durán (SEMAR)

The airport's first terminal and two runways were officially opened on 21 March 2022.[21] The inaugural commercial passenger flight, VivaAerobús flight 3280, departed from Guadalajara and landed at AIFA on 21 March.[22][23]

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Aeroméxico Connect Mérida, Puerto Vallarta, Villahermosa
Conviasa Caracas
VivaAerobús Guadalajara, Monterrey
Volaris Cancún, Tijuana

Connectivity

On 19 March 2020, a proposed 23-km extension of the Tren Suburbano commuter train was announced, which would branch off from the current line at Lechería station and head northeast, terminating at the airport.[24][25] Line I of the Mexibús bus rapid transit system connects the airport at Terminal de Pasajeros station to the Mexico City metro system at Ciudad Azteca station with an extension to AIFA to be completed by the time of the airport's opening. Mexibús Line IV is to be extended to AIFA at a later date, and will connect the airport to the metro at Indios Verdes station.[26]

References
  1.  Mexico
  2. Airport information for Santa Lucía Air Force Base Num 1 at Transport Search website.
  3. Google Maps directions from Santa Lucía base to Zócalo, retrieved 6 November 2021
  4. "On March 21, the three runways at the AMLO's General Felipe Ángeles Airport will begin to operate". Mexico City Post. 20 February 2022.
  5. "¿Quién es Felipe Ángeles y por qué el aeropuerto se llama así? ("Who was Felipe Angeles and why is the airport called that?"". El Universal (Mexico City). 2 October 2021.
  6. "What Is Next for Mexico City Airport After Mega Project Axed?". Retrieved 9 November 2018.
  7. "Entre banderas y militares, inician obras en aeropuerto de Santa Lucía". www.milenio.com. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  8. "Va aeropuerto, revocan última suspensión contra Santa Lucía". Excélsior (in Spanish). 16 October 2019. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  9. "Mexican president says new airport construction to start next week". Reuters. 24 April 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  10. "Suspenden aeropuerto de Santa Lucía hasta que tenga permisos ambientales" [Airport of Santa Lucía suspended until environmental permission is released]. CNN en Espanol (in Spanish). 12 June 2019. Retrieved 15 June 2019.
  11. "Semarnat palomea a Santa Lucia entrega dictamen sobre el nuevo aeropuerto" [Environmental agency delivers Santa Lucia Airport construction approval], Excelsior (in Spanish), Mexico City, 21 July 2019, retrieved 21 July 2019
  12. "Garantiza AMLO transparencia en el tema de Santa Lucía". El Siglo (in European Spanish). Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  13. "BNamericas - Santa Lucía airport studies go to internatio..." BNamericas.com. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  14. "Santa Lucía se enfocaría en low-costs y carga". a21.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  15. Eduardo Murillo (29 January 2020). "Tendrá tecnología de punta el aeropuerto de Santa Lucía" [The Santa Lucia airport will have cutting-edge technology]. La Jornada (in Spanish). Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  16. "'Mammoth central' found at Mexico airport construction site". apnews. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
  17. "In Mexico City, experts find bones of dozens of mammoths". ABC News. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  18. Aitken, Peter (23 May 2020). "Experts find bones of dozens of mammoths in Mexico City". Fox News. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  19. "Durante la construcción del aeropuerto de Santa Lucía, murieron al menos tres trabajadores por COVID-19". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  20. "El aeropuerto de Santa Lucía es "una hazaña": AMLO aterrizó por primera vez en su obra insignia". infobae (in European Spanish). Infobae. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  21. https://www.gob.mx/presidencia/prensa/mision-cumplida-la-suma-de-esfuerzos-hizo-posible-el-aifa-afirma-presidente-lopez-obrador
  22. ""¡Sí se pudo!": aterriza primer vuelo comercial en el aeropuerto de Santa Lucía". www.milenio.com. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  23. Abi-Habib, Maria; Cantú, Elda (25 March 2022). "A New International Airport Is Not Quite Ready for Takeoff". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  24. Notimex (19 March 2020). "Ampliarán Tren Suburbano para conectar aeropuerto Felipe Ángeles ("Suburban Train will be extended to connect to Felipe Angeles Airport")". Mexico City: 24 Horas. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
  25. Noé Cruz (20 March 2020). "Conectarán Santa Lucía con el Tren Suburbano ("Santa Lucia will be connected by the Suburban Train")". Mexico City: El Universal. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  26. Carillo, Emmanuel (3 February 2022). "AIFA despegará sin Mexibús ni Suburbano; empresa operará 9 rutas de conexión". Forbes.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.