Flight delays: Will low FAA prices in Mexico hurt tourists? | Flight Issues

Many Americans who have been vaccinated are planning a holiday after a year of living at home, Mexico remains one of the most popular places in the world – and the country’s tourist companies are ready to be encouraged.

About 10.5 million tourists from the United States travel to Mexico in one year, and tourism is popular 8.7 percent of Mexico’s economy, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. When the coronavirus begins to bite into the tourism industry by 2020, Mexico is eager to welcome visitors again.

But the atmosphere between Mexico and the US may be a little quieter than expected in the coming months the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) last month lowered the safety of Mexican airlines from the first stage to the second stage.

Economist Carlos Torres, who works with the Strategic Affairs team, said there could be serious consequences for the Mexican economy as a result.

“The airline industry has had a very difficult time last year, due to overcrowding,” Torres told Al Jazeera.

Mexican airlines are banned from adding alternatives, “this size increase would not be matched by Mexican airlines,” he explained.

The decline of the FAA also means that Mexican airlines will be barred from sharing US codes and flights until the FAA is satisfied that the country’s pilots – Agencia Federal de Aviacion Civil, or AFAC – are fully compliant with security established by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). the United Nations special mission. The standards address professionalism, staff training, record keeping, monitoring methods, and coping with security concerns.

Madhu Unnikrishnan is the editor of Airline Weekly, which specializes in the airline industry and Skift, a major news agency that specializes in transportation.

He added that although the landing was seen as a “public matter to the government”, the ruling could affect Mexican-based flights by preventing them from selling the market during a crisis.

“Mexican airlines are not just adding new flights to the US when they want to start, which could affect them [those airlines’] able to take over a growing market, “Unnikrishnan told Al Jazeera.” And maybe US planes will help fill the void. “

Wrong votes

AFAC has announced its intention to “re-start Group 1 soon”, with Mexico’s Deputy Minister of Transport Carlos Moran telling Reuters he expects it to happen in less than three months.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said government officials had complied with FAA requirements, but had traveled to the United States during this time.

“At times, there are countries that consider themselves to be world governments; they forget that there are about 200 countries in the world that are free, independent, independent, that’s why they pretend to be judges, they deserve everything, “he told a news conference on the morning of May 27.

Mexico Aeromexico’s airline crash dropped by almost 10% following the announcement by the US Federal Aviation Administration to lower [File: Ted S. Warren/AP Photo]

But nothing was against the decline, says travel analyst Henry Harteveldt, President of the Atmosphere Research Group.

“It’s not like the US says, ‘Let’s choose Mexico.’ It’s just a matter of time for Mexico to reconsider, “Harteveldt told Al Jazeera.

“It is important for the US to ensure that the security issue is resolved,” he added. “At the moment, travel between the US and Mexico represents the largest destination in the world heading to the US – there is a lot of trade, tourism, business travel, aviation and much more that travel by air between the two countries.”

In his remarks, the Mexican authorities of AFAC noted that the aviation sector had a small minority in the FAA monitoring operation, which took place between October 2020 and February 2021.

It was also in those months that Mexico had the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in the world.

Users are not worried; sharers do ‘

Mexico is struggling to cope with the epidemic, and its program of treatment has been steady but slow. About 10 percent of the population is currently vaccinated, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, and the country accounts for about 900 cases a day, which is much lower than 28,115 in October.

Skift data for beach holidays in Mexico, such as shopping malls in Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, shows that reservations currently exceed levels for 2019 [File: Emilio Espejel/AP Photo]

But Unnikrishnan does not expect the decline of FAA security to affect Mexican tourism at any rate, especially with “the great need to travel to the US”.

“It’s important to remember that this is a landing for Mexican pilots and not Mexican airlines,” which would continue to operate the same aircraft he did before crashing, he said.

He also mentioned Skift’s beach vacations in Mexico, such as shopping malls in Cancun and Puerto Vallarta, indicate that reservations are currently exceeding the 2019 standards.

“I don’t think any problems will arise until the buyers,” Unnikrishnan said. “When people make a decision on a flight, they will not think, ‘Well, the pilots of this country have been demoted.’”

When the FAA ousted air traffic controllers in Costa Rica in 2019 and Indonesia in 2007, for example, “people still go to Bali, people still go on vacation to their beach and resorts,” he said.

But there may be other meanings for each airport, such as Unnikrishnan, such as Aeromexico, which is affiliated with the US Delta Air Lines carrier.

Tourism activities are more than 8% of Mexico’s economy and workers in the group want to go back to work after the 2020 crisis [File: Emilio Espejel/AP Photo]

The two companies were in the middle of negotiations, he said, “and this puts everything in perspective until the pilots are promoted back to the first category,” owing Aeromexico “a deposit to the Delta relationship on its future finances.”

Divisions in Mexican Aeromexico flights fell nearly 10% following the announcement of landing.

“Consumers are not worried, shareholders say,” Unnikrishnan said.

For Torres, this should be of concern to the Mexican president.

“The airline industry accounts for about three thirds of the country’s GDP [gross domestic product], mainly due to tourism, ”he said. “The North American market makes up 70% of the airline and most people. How long will it take to get rid of the bottom? ”