Mexico City International Airport () , officially Benito Juárez International Airport, is the main international airport serving Mexico City, the capital of Mexico. It is the busiest airport in Mexico, and as of 2025 ranks as the third-busiest in Latin America, the 15th-busiest in North America, and the 50th-busiest in the world by passenger traffic. The airport is served by more than 25 airlines with routes to over 100 destinations across Mexico, the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

As the primary hub for Mexico's flag carrier, Aeroméxico, the airport serves as a SkyTeam hub. It is also a hub for Volaris and Viva and a focus city for Magnicharters. The airport has two passenger terminals and two runways. It hosts agencies including the Mexican Airspace Navigation Services (SENEAM), the Mexican Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC), as well as an Air Force base. The airport is owned by the Mexican Navy and operated by Grupo Aeroportuario de la Ciudad de México. It is named after 19th-century president Benito Juárez. 

As part of Mexico City's airport system—along with Toluca International Airport and Felipe Ángeles International Airport—the airport operates at full capacity. It is one of the busiest two-runway airports in the world, with 850 aircraft movements per day. With an average daily passenger count of 122,000, the airport handled 44,605,576 passengers in 2025, marking a 1.7% decrease from the previous year.

History

Origins

The site known as Llanos de Balbuena has been used for aviation since 1910. That year, Alberto Braniff made the first powered flight over Mexican soil, flying a French Voisin aircraft with a 50-horsepower engine. On November 30, 1911, President Francisco I. Madero became the world's first head of state to fly in an airplane, piloted by Geo M. Dyott of Moisant International.

In 1915, the site opened as Balbuena Military Airport, equipped with five runways. A small civilian airport opened in 1928, with regular commercial service starting in 1929 and was officially inaugurated on May 15, 1931. On July 8, 1943, it was granted international status and launched its first international route to Los Angeles, operated by Mexicana de Aviación.

From 1949 to 1951, the airport expanded with a new runway (05R-23L), an apron, a control tower, and administration offices. President Miguel Alemán inaugurated a renovated passenger terminal on November 19, 1952. By 1956, the airport operated with four runways: 05L-23R (), 05R-23L (), featuring electric lights for night-time service; 13-31 (), built to replace Runway 14-32, which was too close to adjacent residential areas; and Runway 5 Auxiliary ().

On December 2, 1963, the airport's name was changed from "Aeropuerto Central" (Central Airport) to "Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de México" (Mexico City International Airport). In the 1970s, the two shortest runways (13/31 and 5 Auxiliary) were closed to facilitate the construction of a social housing complex in that area, named Unidad Fiviport.Historic photo at FlyAPM site This left the airport with its current two-runway layout. The Mexico City Area Control Center (ACC) began operating on November 24, 1978, and remains in service.

Expansion and decentralization

The airport's location in a densely populated area restricts infrastructure expansion. The proximity of the two parallel runways prevents fully independent simultaneous operations, limiting the airport's capacity.

The terminal was expanded in 1980, doubling its capacity. In 1990, the terminal was reconfigured to separate domestic and international operations. On April 11, 1994, a new international section opened through a joint venture between Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares (ASA) and Hakim Grupo Industrial.

In the 1990s, Mexicana began decentralizing operations to reduce congestion, shifting many flights to Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Mérida. In 1994, all general aviation operations were moved to Toluca International Airport, which became the new hub for private and non-commercial flights. Since then, general aviation has been prohibited, with only military, government, commercial, and authorized flights permitted. In 2001, a satellite concourse with eight gates was added east of the main terminal.

Congestion challenges

The congestion challenges at Mexico City Airport became a prominent issue in Mexican politics in the early 2000s. Large infrastructure projects, particularly in transportation, have historically played a crucial role in presidential legacies due to centralized decision-making, their symbolic significance for progress, and leaders' aspirations to leave a lasting impact.

In 2002, President Vicente Fox's administration proposed a new airport on a site in Atenco and Texcoco. However, the Atenco project faced significant local opposition, particularly from the Community Front in Defense of Land (), representing locals facing displacement. Violent clashes forced the cancellation of the project later that year.

Following the cancellation of the Atenco project, the federal government announced an extension to the existing terminal in 2003, increasing its annual capacity from 20 to 32 million passengers. The project added of new construction and renovated , including new check-in areas, commercial zones, a departures concourse, and a long-distance bus terminal with direct access to nearby neighborhoods.

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, political initiatives aimed at establishing nearby airports such as Puebla, Toluca, Cuernavaca, and Querétaro as supplementary options for serving the Mexico City Area were introduced. This initiative, known as the Metropolitan Airport System, aimed to reduce pressure on Mexico City International Airport.

Until 2007, a single terminal served all flights at Mexico City's airport. The airport was among a few globally to employ mobile lounges as a boarding system, a technology also used by airports such as Washington-Dulles, Montreal, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, and Jeddah. This system involved elevated bus-like vehicles to transport passengers from gates to remote aircraft parking positions. Terminal 2 was inaugurated on November 15, 2007, and fully opened in March 2008. It increased the number of gates by 40% and overall capacity by 15%. Most SkyTeam members—except Air France and KLM—moved operations to the new terminal.

Replacement controversy

In 2014, aviation authorities declared Mexico City's airspace saturated, capping operations at 61 per hour between 07:00 and 23:59. That year, President Peña Nieto's administration launched the Texcoco Airport project.    Positioned as Mexico's largest public infrastructure project in a century, it aimed to replace the aging Mexico City International Airport by 2023, featuring a state-of-the-art terminal of and six runways."Ready for landing: Mexico City airport expansion could make it one of largest in world", Christian Science Monitor, 2014-09-03  However, López Obrador, then a presidential candidate, campaigned against the project, sparking political controversy.

Upon assuming the presidency, López Obrador's administration held a controversial public referendum on whether to cancel Texcoco. Despite criticism over its legality and transparency, the project was cancelled, and construction began on Felipe Ángeles International Airport at Santa Lucía, which opened in 2022. Intended as a secondary airport for Mexico City, it has struggled to attract airlines and passengers.

On July 23, 2020, Terminal 2's Pier L extension opened, adding seven gates to reduce remote stand operations and bus transfers to aircraft. However, in 2022, a new saturation declaration reaffirmed the 61-operations-per-hour cap, effective 05:00–23:59 at Terminal 1 and 06:00–23:00 at Terminal 2, maintaining the 61 operations/hour limit. In 2023, the Mexican government attempted to decongest the airport by relocating all cargo flights to Felipe Ángeles Airport, citing safety and congestion concerns. In 2025, an MXN 8 billion (approx. USD 460 million) renovation began, scheduled for completion by mid-2026, aiming to improve operations and prepare for Mexico's role in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Facilities

The airport is located in the neighborhood of Peñón de los Baños within Venustiano Carranza, one of Mexico City's sixteen boroughs, east of Downtown. It is surrounded by built-up areas: Gustavo A. Madero to the north, and Venustiano Carranza to the west, south, and east.

The airport spans and has two parallel runways separated by less than , which restricts simultaneous operations. At elevation, the airport is classified as hot and high, where reduced air density reduces aircraft performance. Runway 05L/23R is long, and runway 05R/23L is long. The runways, aligned southwest–northeast, contribute to aircraft noise pollution in central neighborhoods, especially during landings with northeast winds.

Terminal 1, cargo facilities, maintenance hangars, and administration buildings are located on the north side of the airfield. On its northern edge, Aeropuertos y Servicios Auxiliares (ASA), a government-owned corporation, is headquartered. On the south side of the airfield are Terminal 2, maintenance hangars, police facilities, Mexican Airspace Navigation Services buildings, and a military complex. The airport includes 95 aircraft stands for commercial operations, 63 of which are connected to the terminals via jet bridges (33 in Terminal 1 and 30 in Terminal 2), and 32 are remote.Retrieved on December 20, 2011. "Av.602 No.161 Col.Zona Federal Aeropuerto Internacional Ciudad de México Delegación Venustiano Carranza, C.P.15620, México D.F."

Air Force Base No. 19 () (B.A.M. 19) is located on airport grounds, adjacent to Terminal 2. It serves as the home for the High Command Special Air Transport Unit (UETAAM), which operates a fleet that includes the Boeing 737, IAI 201, JetStar, King Air, SA 330J, and UH-60 Black Hawk. It also hosts the Coordination Office of the Presidential Air Transport Unit. B.A.M. 19 includes an apron and several hangars, one of which is known as the Presidential Hangar, used for state visits and presidential transport. It also includes administrative buildings and facilities to accommodate Air Force personnel.

Mexico City Area Control Center (ACC) is one of four Area Control Centers in Mexico, along with Mazatlán ACC, Monterrey ACC, and Mérida ACC. It operates under the Mexican Airspace Navigation Services (). Mexico ACC provides air traffic control services to aircraft within the Mexico Flight Information Region (FIR), covering central Mexico. It borders Monterrey ACC to the north, Mérida ACC to the east, Mazatlán ACC to the west, and Mazatlán Oceanic (MMFO) to the south.

Terminals

Terminal 1 Terminal 1, operational since 1952, has undergone several expansions, with major upgrades in 1970, 1989, 1998, 2001, and 2006, resulting in a total surface area of . The terminal is an long, two-story building, with international services located in the eastern section and domestic services in the west. The ground floor houses all arrival facilities, including 22 baggage claim carousels; domestic check-in areas for Volaris, Viva, and Magnicharters (A1, A2, B, C, D, D1), and a commercial corridor hosting snack kiosks, banks, souvenir shops and car rental services. The top floor contains international check-in areas (F1, F2, F3), food courts, restaurants, security checkpoints, and a long departures concourse (gates 1-28) connected via a walkway to a satellite building (gates 29–36).

Terminal 1 offers 33 contact gates with jet bridges and 20 remote stands. Gates 1-18 primarily serve domestic flights, while gates 19-36 cater to international routes. Passengers using remote gates are transported by bus. The terminal also houses administrative offices, two long-distance bus terminals, and parking for 5,500 vehicles.