✈️ Exclusive Benefits for Readers
Verified codes to save on your next trip.
It draws attention to how politics increasingly mixes with aviation, which is not necessarily a good recipe.
With such a special industry that requires a lot of technical knowledge, but more than anything, It is complex to understand, Politics continues to interfere or want to have a greater role.
Obviously, an industry that moves so many billions of dollars daily, must have a connection with politics, but this should be limited to very specific topics such as, granting of permits, bilateral agreements and others.
The problem now born from offers and directly interfering with the industry, just as it is happening in Mexico with the construction of the new airport for the capital.
The case of Mexico
The construction of a new international airport would have a large cost of $13 billion for Mexico City, but everything seems to be canceled even though the huge infrastructure project has already been completed by a third of the total project.
About a million people voted in a referendum, who consulted on whether to continue the construction of a new airport in Texcoco or renovate the current one Benito Juárez International Airport and add two runways to a military base in Saint Lucia, to some 50 km north of capital.
The Arturo Rosenblueth Foundation, a non-profit institution that was responsible for counting the votes, said 747,000 votes were for the Santa Lucia option and that 310,463 to continue with the Texcoco project.
Nevertheless, extremely low turnout represented less than 1 percent of Mexico's electorate.
The four-day public consultation was launched by President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador, commonly referred to by his initials AMLO, who will take over 1 from December to 2018. HE argued that the new airport was tainted by corruption and would be a financial problem and burden on the country..
Although the result of the referendum is not legally binding, AMLO has emphasized that he would comply with the results of the vote. The new airport has been under construction on the drained bed of Lake Texcoco, located east of Mexico City, since the year 2015.
A report from the International Air Transport Association (THERE IT IS), published in April 2018, stated that if the new airport is not built, it could mean 20 million fewer passengers per year for the 2035.
This translates into a negative impact of up to $20 billion in future GDP contribution, add the report, And till 200,000 fewer jobs in Mexico supported by aviation 2035.
“The current airport is about to explode. Sirve a 47 million passengers, almost the 50 percent of its design capacity 32 millones», said Peter Cerda, IATA Regional Vice President for the Americas.
«Un nuevo aeropuerto es vital para permitir que la Ciudad de México se beneficie más de su posición geográfica ideal que une a América del Norte y América Latina».
Aviation already supports one million jobs and the 2.9 percent of GDP in Mexico, including the economic contribution of foreign tourists arriving by air.
According to figures provided by Saber Market Intelligence, Benito Juárez International managed 45.8 million passengers in 2017, in front of the 42.8 millions of 12 previous months. During the first six months of 2018, the figure was 23,4 million passengers, an increase of 5 percent in the first semester of 2017.
The airport is the largest in Mexico according to departure capacity, as OAG Schedules Analyzer statistics show, that represent the 31 percent of the national one-way capacity and the 36 percent of international departure seats in 2018.
This year a total of about 29.4 million seats on departure flights from this terminal.
The case of Chile
Few days ago, The Commission of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile approved changing the traditional name of the Santiago International Airport.
In this bill, The traditional name of Arturo Merino Benítez will be changed to that of the great poet Pablo Neruda.
Yes OK, It is not a change that affects aviation or the industry as such, demuestra las «ganas» de la política de intervenir en varios diferentes niveles, instead of worrying about what they were actually elected.
remember, that Arturo Merino Benítez, who was a decorated Chilean military man, He is considered a hero of his country's aviation and founder of the Chilean Air Force., creator of the Santiago Aeropostal Line – Arica (predecessor of LAN Chile), first network of aerodromes and first Air Club of Chile, so he had well earned his recognition at the main airport of this country.
For this change, The House Commission offered to maintain the name of Merino Benítez in the domestic terminal of the Santiago Airport, but leaving such an emblematic character for Chilean aviation in the background.
More aviation, less politics
With information from www.routesonline.com.
✈️ Exclusive Benefits for Readers
Search here for hotels ALL over the world at the best price.
It is true that aviation should not be mixed with political purposes and worse with leftist tendencies as in Mexico.. Nevertheless, Let us remember that politics is part of the economy of a country and also aviation with its airports are temporary issues and related in some way.. If freight and passenger traffic changes, Imports and exports have an impact on a country's trade balance and airports are the protagonists of this, tourism is the same in terms of arrivals of foreigners or local tourists.
It all depends on the approach you give it..