• DOWNTURN: Impacted by the global coronavirus shock, the number of passengers traveling with Mexican airlines fell 33.7% in March 2020, compared with the same month last year, according to new data released by Mexico’s Civil Aviation Federal Agency (AFAC, in Spanish).
• NUMBERS: Given the sharp decline in March, the first quarter’s number of domestic and international passengers transported by Mexican airlines also saw a decrease of 5.2%, compared to the same period a year earlier. This is the first fall in nine years.
• EXPERT: According to aviation expert Pablo Casas, the decline is directly tied to the cancellation of air travel due to the pandemic. In absolute numbers, the number of passengers transported in March was 5.8 million, the first quarter’s total was 23.2 million.
• ADVISORY: On March 19, the US Department of State issued a Level 4 advisory urging all US citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global coronavirus pandemic. Only days after this warning, Mexican airlines such as Volaris and Interjet cut the number of their international flights.
