Mexico’s transport authority promises safety after allegations of risky incidents

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – Mexico’s transport ministry pledged on Friday to insure safety for planes crossing the country’s skies, responding to a recent report of risky incidents issued by a pilots association as the capital’s new airport gears up.

A safety bulletin issued by the IFALPA international pilots association on Wednesday reported “several incidents” involving aircraft arriving in Mexico with low fuel, ground proximity warning system alerts in which one crew almost collided unintentionally with terrain, as well as what it described as flights arriving with excessive delays.

The association pointed to the March opening of the capital’s Felipe Angeles commercial airport, build on land once belonging to an adjacent air force base, as a possible factor.

“It would appear that with the opening of this newly converted airport, air traffic control has apparently received little training and support,” the bulletin said.

In its statement, the transport ministry defended its oversight performance and pointed to what it described as proper handling of its only reported safety incident from last June. It added that it would immediately convene officials to further evaluate the bulletin’s assessment.

Mexico was downgraded to a Category 2 rating in 2021 by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), due to lacking the “necessary requirements to oversee the country’s air carriers in accordance with minimum international safety standards.” [L2N2NC22K]

(Reporting by Carolina Pulice; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Michael Perry)