Lufthansa switches Mexican freighter flights following government decree

Source: Lufthansa Cargo

Lufthansa Cargo will switch all Boeing 777 freighter flights from Mexico City International Airport (MEX) in line with a government decree.

The Mexican government announced earlier this year that all freighter flights to MEX would need to be switched to Felipe Ángeles International Airport (NLU) as the former faced a capacity shortage.

“From the beginning of July, cargo airlines will operate flights to the modern NLU about 45 km northeast of Mexico City,” the carrier said.

“The airport has been in operation since last year and is located on the site of a former military airfield, surrounded by an infrastructure that continues to grow steadily.”

Lufthansa Cargo will operate a total of six weekly 777 freighter connections between NLU and its Frankfurt hub. The freighter flights can be booked from June 16.

The carrier also operates 10 weekly passenger flights to MEX using 747-8 and Airbus A350 aircraft.

Lufthansa Cargo said it will transport cargo between the two airports utilising a truck shuttle service.

Frank Nozinsky, director, sales & handling, Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Central America and Caribbean at Lufthansa Cargo, said: “As part of the necessary relocation of freighter flights to Mexico City’s northeastern airport, we have successfully established both the import and export processes on-site to our usual high standards in a very short time, as well as set up a fast and reliable nighttime truck transport service for freight shipments between NLU and MEX.”

The announcement that freighter flights should be moved to the new airport was met with criticism from IATA.

The airline association said that expecting airlines to move cargo operations at short notice “is not feasible given the enormous technical, regulatory and infrastructural requirements associated with this transfer”.

IATA blasts draft ban on cargo-only operations at Mexico’s busiest airport

Mexican cargo operations set to move

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Damian Brett

Damian Brett
I have been writing about the freight and logistics industry since 2007 when I joined International Freighting Weekly to cover the shipping sector. After a stint in PR, I have gone on to work for Containerisation International and Lloyds List - where I was editor of container shipping - before joining Air Cargo News in 2015. Contact me on [email protected]