Felipe Ángeles International Airport

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"Santa Lucia Airport" redirects here. For other uses, see Santa Lucia Airport (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Mexico City Texcoco Airport.
Felipe Ángeles International Airport

Aeropuerto Internacional General Felipe Ángeles
AIFA1.jpg
Summary
Airport typePublic / Military
OperatorSEDENA
ServesMexico City
LocationSanta Lucía, Zumpango, Mexico
Opened21 March 2022; 0 days ago (2022-03-21)
Coordinates19°45′24″N 099°00′55″W / 19.75667°N 99.01528°W / 19.75667; -99.01528Coordinates: 19°45′24″N 099°00′55″W / 19.75667°N 99.01528°W / 19.75667; -99.01528
Websitewww.gob.mx/aifa
Map
NLU is located in State of Mexico
NLU
NLU
Location of the airport in Mexico
NLU is located in Mexico
NLU
NLU
NLU (Mexico)
NLU is located in North America
NLU
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]
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Felipe Ángeles International Airport (Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional General Felipe Ángeles or AIFA) is an airport which is scheduled to open on March 21, 2022[3] 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.[4] The airport is under construction on the site of the Santa Lucía Air Force Base (IATA: NLU, ICAO: MMSM), a military airport in Santa Lucía, in the municipality of Zumpango, in the State of Mexico, Mexico, 48.8 kilometres (30.3 mi) north-northeast of the Historic Center of Mexico City by car.[5]

Construction started on October 17, 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 are planned during the first phase, due to open by March 21, 2022, as ordered by president Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The airport will be operated by the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) which will also receive all of the airport's earnings.[6][7][8]

Construction[]

On April 24, 2019, Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that construction of the new airport would commence on April 29, 2019.[9] On June 12, 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 July 17, 2019. Construction officially started on October 17, 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 Mexico City's International Airport congestion. 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]

Construction of the airport was considered a priority during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico. 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 June 9, 2020.[18]

President López Obrador flew on the fifteen-minute Air Force inaugural flight from the Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City on February 10, 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),[19] and José Rafael Ojeda Durán (SEMAR). The airport terminal is scheduled for completion in March 2022.[20] The new military runway is made of hydraulic concrete as opposed to the old one made of asphalt.[citation needed]

Airlines and destinations[]

AirlinesDestinations
Aeroméxico Connect Mérida, Villahermosa[21]
Conviasa Caracas (begins May 1, 2022)[22]
VivaAerobús Guadalajara, Monterrey[23]
Volaris Cancún, Tijuana[24]

Connectivity[]

On March 19, 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.[25][26] Line I of the Mexibús bus rapid transit system will connect the airport to the Mexico City metro system at Ciudad Azteca 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.[27]

References[]

  1. ^  Mexico
  2. ^ Airport information for Santa Lucía Air Force Base Num 1 at Transport Search website.
  3. ^ "On March 21, the three runways at the AMLO’s General Felipe Ángeles Airport will begin to operate" Mexico City Post, February 20, 2022
  4. ^ "¿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.
  5. ^ Google Maps directions from Santa Lucía base to Zócalo, retrieved November 6, 2021
  6. ^ "What Is Next for Mexico City Airport After Mega Project Axed?". Retrieved 2018-11-09.
  7. ^ "Entre banderas y militares, inician obras en aeropuerto de Santa Lucía". www.milenio.com. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  8. ^ "Va aeropuerto, revocan última suspensión contra Santa Lucía". Excélsior (in Spanish). 2019-10-16. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  9. ^ "Mexican president says new airport construction to start next week". Reuters. April 24, 2019. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  10. ^ "Suspenden aeropuerto de Santa Lucía hasta que tenga permisos ambientales" [Airport of Santa Lucia is suspended until environmental permission is released]. CNN en Espanol (in Spanish). June 12, 2019. Retrieved June 15, 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, July 21, 2019, retrieved July 21, 2019
  12. ^ "Garantiza AMLO transparencia en el tema de Santa Lucía". El Siglo (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  13. ^ "BNamericas - Santa Lucía airport studies go to internatio..." BNamericas.com. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  14. ^ "Santa Lucía se enfocaría en low-costs y carga". a21.com.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  15. ^ Eduardo Murillo (Jan 29, 2020). "Tendrá tecnología de punta el aeropuerto de Santa Lucía" [The Santa Lucia airport will have cutting-edge technology]. La Jornada (in Spanish). Retrieved Jan 30, 2020.
  16. ^ "'Mammoth central' found at Mexico airport construction site". apnews. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  17. ^ "In Mexico City, experts find bones of dozens of mammoths". ABC News. Retrieved May 24, 2020. Aitken, Peter (23 May 2020). "Experts find bones of dozens of mammoths in Mexico City". Fox News. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  18. ^ "Durante la construcción del aeropuerto de Santa Lucía, murieron al menos tres trabajadores por COVID-19". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  19. ^ "El aeropuerto de Santa Lucía es "una hazaña": AMLO aterrizó por primera vez en su obra insignia". infobae (in European Spanish). Infobae. February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  20. ^ Garduño, Roberto; Martínez, Fabiola (February 10, 2021). "La Jornada - Se traslada AMLO del AICM a Santa Lucía en el Día de la Fuerza Aérea". jornada.com.mx (in Spanish). La Jornada. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
  21. ^ "Aeroméxico advances the flight! It will take off from Santa Lucia a month earlier than expected". Excélsior (in Spanish). March 2022. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  22. ^ "Venezuelan airline aims to operate in AIFA". A21 (in Spanish). November 2021. Retrieved November 19, 2021.
  23. ^ "Viva Aerobus will connect AIFA with Monterrey and Guadalajara". T21 (in Spanish). November 2021. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  24. ^ "Volaris will operate in Santa Lucia with flights to Tijuana and Cancun". Expansión (in Spanish). October 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2021.
  25. ^ Notimex (March 19, 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 March 19, 2020.
  26. ^ Noé Cruz (March 20, 2020). "Conectarán Santa Lucía con el Tren Suburbano ("Santa Lucia will be connected by the Suburban Train")". Mexico City: El Universal. Retrieved March 21, 2020.
  27. ^ Carillo, Emmanuel (February 3, 2022). "AIFA despegará sin Mexibús ni Suburbano; empresa operará 9 rutas de conexión". Forbes.

External links[]

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