Mexico's Airlines Just Got Their U.S. Routes Back After Being Blocked for Nearly a Year — DOT Revokes Freeze

The U.S. Department of Transportation cleared Mexican airlines on October 16 to once again develop routes and add frequencies to the United States from both of Mexico City's international airports, revoking a freeze that had shut down 13 existing or planned services and blocked the most ambitious cross-border expansion push in years. Reuters reported the decision took effect immediately, following a joint announcement from Mexico's Secretariat of Foreign Affairs and Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation.

A Dispute Rooted in 2022

The friction between Washington and Mexico City over aviation access did not surface overnight. Beginning in the winter of 2022–2023, Mexico progressively cut the number of authorized hourly operations at Benito Juárez International Airport (AICM) — from 61 to 52, and later down to 43 — a roughly 20 percent reduction that U.S. authorities said disadvantaged the three largest American carriers: Delta, American, and United. Mexico City's government argued the cuts were necessary to manage chronic congestion and aging infrastructure, though the construction work cited as justification never materialized. Simultaneously, U.S. all-cargo operators were required to vacate AICM and relocate to the newer Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA). Washington's position was that both moves violated the 2015 U.S.-Mexico Air Transport Agreement, a bilateral framework intended to guarantee open, fair-market competition between the two countries' carriers.

Washington Escalates: The July 2025 Enforcement Package

With Mexico showing no sign of reversing course, the Trump administration hardened its stance in mid-2025. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced in July 2025 a three-part enforcement package: a mandate requiring all Mexican carriers to file U.S.-bound flight schedules with DOT, prior-approval requirements for large-aircraft services, and a formal proceeding to revoke the antitrust immunity that had allowed Delta and Aeromexico to coordinate pricing, capacity, and revenue-sharing since 2016. The pressure campaign produced results faster than many expected: just two months later, on September 16, Duffy terminated that immunity outright, effective January 2026, ending years of coordinated commercial operations between the two carriers.

13 Routes Cancelled — Including Viva's Entire AIFA Expansion

The standoff reached its peak on October 28, 2025, when the Transportation Department issued an order canceling all combination passenger-and-cargo service between the United States and AIFA, while simultaneously freezing any growth in Mexican carrier frequencies from AICM. The order voided 13 current or planned routes across Aeromexico, Volaris, and Viva — including two active Aeromexico services from AIFA to Houston and McAllen, and nine routes Viva had announced in April 2025 to Los Angeles, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas-Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, Miami, and Orlando, later complemented by Austin and a seasonal New York-JFK service. Those Viva routes were blocked before a single flight ever departed: the carrier had scheduled them to start launching November 1, 2025 — just days after the October 28 order took effect.

A Diplomatic Off-Ramp: The May 2026 Memorandum

Resolution took shape in May 2026. Following months of bilateral working-group sessions, the two governments signed the Memorandum of Consultations on May 1, under which Mexico committed to guaranteeing fair and transparent slot access for U.S. carriers at AICM, aligning its slot allocation policies with international best practices, and ensuring equitable cargo infrastructure access at both Mexico City airports. Transportation Secretary Duffy called it a step in the right direction while keeping the freeze in place, conditioning any relief on Mexico demonstrating real follow-through. The federal government in Mexico City attributed the October 16 revocation to concrete progress achieved through that technical cooperation.

Airlines Respond — and the Expansion Window Opens

Mexican carriers welcomed Friday's ruling. Aeromexico and Viva both said publicly it would strengthen air connectivity between the two countries, a view reflected in the joint ministerial statement. For Viva, the revocation reopens an expansion plan that was blocked before it ever launched: the carrier can now file fresh approvals for all nine of the AIFA-to-U.S. routes that were frozen in October 2025, along with any additional frequencies or new gateways from either airport.

The airline's position carries added significance given its pending corporate transformation. Viva and Volaris announced in December 2025 plans to combine their holding companies under a new entity called Grupo Más Vuelos, a combination that would control roughly three-quarters of Mexico's domestic air market. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission cleared the deal in September 2026, and Colombia has also approved it; Mexico's antitrust authority remains the last outstanding review, expected before year's end. Both carriers continue to operate independently under separate brands in the meantime.

Aeromexico, which lost two active AIFA routes under the October 2025 order, regains scheduling flexibility across its network. Volaris, still operating separately, holds equivalent freedom to file new route applications from either Mexico City airport without DOT blocking the path.

What Travelers Should Expect

Passengers are unlikely to see new flights materialize immediately. Each carrier must still go through the standard regulatory sequence — filing schedules with DOT, securing airport slots, and opening sales — a process that typically spans several months. More direct services and additional seat inventory on high-traffic corridors like Mexico City-New York and Mexico City-Los Angeles are realistic near-term outcomes, with competitive price pressure on those routes likely to surface even earlier as carriers work simultaneously on route applications.

DOT's schedule-filing and large-aircraft approval requirements remain intact, giving Washington ongoing visibility into how Mexican carriers use their restored market access. The standoff has ended, but the regulatory watch continues.

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