Once the matter of Cabotage has been settled, from which, fortunately for all, the federal government withdrew, what remains pending in the immediate future is to recover Category 1 from the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States (FAA), for which , the aeronautical authorities and the SICT said at the time, the only thing missing was the approval of the Civil Aviation and Airports laws, sent jointly on December 15 of last year. It is presumable that this initiative has been modified and that the new version is reaching the Chamber of Deputies these days.
And, along the way, we hope that other sections have been removed from the new version that also hinder the smooth running of the airline industry, although not to the extent that the figure of Cabotage did. We are referring to certain articles such as the one that says that an air transport concession can be withdrawn if the airline overbooks flights or the shackles that are being put on the crew, who could be punished for almost anything.
But beyond these points, what is really important is that the FAA inspectors and auditors really put a check mark on the progress that has been made in the 28 observations and 39 non-conformities that were found in the inspections and that This translates into recategorization.
Obtaining Category 1 is essential for Mexican airlines to be able to grow in routes, frequencies and fleets, in a bilateral border market that, today, is the most important in the world. In terms of air passengers, we are talking about 35 million travelers and the market loss has not been minor: between May 25, 2021, the day the country was downgraded to Category 2, until today, the airlines of the United States United States have announced 35 new routes, which shows the importance of this business.
Hopefully the only stumbling block is the regulations, which can go ahead in a couple of weeks at the latest, because if it follows from there that there is no recategorization until we are sure that the new Law is applicable, then we would be living in hell of uncertainty. And it is that Mexican regulations, at least in terms of aviation, are not bad, even if they are perfectible. The problem is your application. This is where the majority of officials are lost, partly due to a lack of sufficient resources to have more technicians and inspectors, good level training, and competitive salaries, to avoid staff turnover, which at times has been scandalous.
But also in following the procedures to the letter and avoiding cases of opacity or discretion such as those that have been seen in the granting of licenses, in medical examinations or as the one that now occurs at the International Airport of the City of Mexico where the use of slots had been a veritable gibberish and today that you want to put order, chaos is generated.
All of this could be remedied with a real exercise to build State policy on this matter, with the commitment of all the actors.
