Toluca International Airport

Toluca International Airport (); officially Aeropuerto Internacional Licenciado Adolfo López Mateos (Licenciado Adolfo López Mateos International Airport) is an international airport in Toluca, State of Mexico, Mexico. It handles both national and international air traffic for the Metropolitan area of Toluca and serves as a secondary airport for Greater Mexico City, alongside Felipe Angeles Airport. Historically serving as a hub for Volaris, Interjet, and Republicair, the airport is operated by Administradora Mexiquense del Aeropuerto Internacional de Toluca and is named after President Adolfo López Mateos.

Toluca Airport serves as the primary airport for operating executive and general aviation traffic in the Greater Mexico City airspace, ranking fifth busiest in Mexico for both aircraft movements and cargo operations. It serves as a primary base for charter airlines such as Aerolíneas Ejecutivas, Aeromaan, Aviesa, Flymex, and a hub for the cargo airline TUM AeroCarga. The airport also accommodates cargo and aircraft maintenance facilities, and services for air taxis, air ambulances, and aviation schools. It served 1,927,498 passengers in 2025.

History The development of Toluca Airport has been significantly shaped by efforts to address congestion challenges at Mexico City International Airport, stemming from urban constraints since the 1980s. Construction of Toluca Airport commenced in 1970, with its inauguration taking place in 1984.

In 1994, the federal government implemented legislation to mitigate congestion at Mexico City International Airport by prohibiting general aviation operations and redirecting them to secondary airports like Toluca. Consequently, Toluca Airport's importance increased, managing the majority of general aviation traffic in the Mexico City airspace.

Political initiatives have also been introduced to establish nearby airports, including Toluca, along with Puebla, Cuernavaca, and Querétaro, as supplementary options for serving the Mexico City area. This initiative, known as the Metropolitan Airport System, was promoted by the federal administration.

During the 2000s, Toluca Airport played a pivotal role in the initial growth of low-cost carriers in Mexico. Volaris and Interjet, key players in this sector, established Toluca as their primary hub, each operating from independent terminals until 2007. The airport experienced a substantial increase in passenger traffic from 145,000 in 2002 to 4,300,000 in 2008, leading to renovations and expansions. During this period, other airlines, including Aeromexico Connect, Click Mexicana, Republicair, and TAESA Airlines, served Toluca. The airport provided international service to the United States through Continental Express and Spirit Airlines, as well as to Caracas, Venezuela through Conviasa and Madrid, Spain through Air Madrid.

However, following Mexicana's bankruptcy in 2011, Volaris relocated its hub to Guadalajara, and Interjet shifted operations to Mexico City, resulting in a consistent decline in passenger traffic from 1,161,064 in 2013 to 134,305 by 2021. Consequently, Toluca Airport consolidated its operations, reducing its terminals from four to two, with all activities now centralized at the Domestic Terminal. Toluca currently stands as the largest metropolitan area in Mexico without any international flight services.

Most travellers to Toluca opt for Mexico City International Airport, located less than to the east, offering extensive connectivity through highways and bus services. The recent inauguration of Mexico City-Felipe Angeles Airport has introduced additional challenges in attracting commercial flights. Flight figures have fluctuated, with a significant rebound after 2022 when Volaris, Viva, and TAR resumed commercial services, resulting in a traffic volume of almost 2 million passengers by the end of 2025.

Facilities

The airport is situated northeast of Toluca city center and west of affluent neighborhoods like Santa Fe in Mexico City. Its elevated location at imposes payload restrictions on aircraft. Consequently, the airport boasts a runway, the second longest in Mexico after Felipe Ángeles International Airport, and is the first in Mexico equipped with ILS CAT II/IIIA approaches.

The passenger terminal, a single-story structure, includes arrival and departure facilities with standard services. These encompass parking, check-in, security, a VIP lounge, snack bars, shops, immigration and customs facilities, baggage-claim areas, car rental services, taxi stands, and a departure concourse with 15 gates providing direct apron access for passengers to board by walking to their aircraft.

The airport also features multiple aprons and facilities for general and executive aviation, hosting logistics and courier companies. Administrative facilities and multiple hangars cater to air taxi, VIP charters, aircraft management, air ambulance, cargo, and aircraft repair operations.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo As of 2025, FedEx Express is the only airline to serve cargo flights from Toluca to Memphis, which operates weekly.

Destinations map

Statistics Annual traffic + Passenger statistics at Toluca International Airport Year Total Passengers change % Cargo movement (t) change % Air Operations change % 2006 2,051,895 31,372 83,995 2007 3,300,275 60.84% 29,143 7.10% 87,812 4.54% 2008 3,949,611 19.67% 25,804 11.45% 96,801 10.23% 2009 2,489,577 36.96% 23,903 7.36% 79,830 17.53% 2010 2,270,767 8.78% 25,714 7.57% 74,114 7.16% 2011 1,579,115 30.45% 30,393 18.19% 79,332 7.04% 2012 987,051 37.49% 26,758 11.95% 87,630 10.45% 2013 1,161,064 17.62% 26,516 0.90% 91,945 4.92% 2014 867,096 25.31% 26,696 0.67% 95,423 3.78% 2015 865,037 0.23% 25,437 4.71% 95,063 0.37% 2016 771,152 10.85% 21,827 14.19% 101,695 6.97% 2017 789,081 2.3% 31,159 42.75% 101,186 0.50% 2018 691,712 12.34% 36,491 17.11% 96,725 4.41% 2019 689,001 0.39% 35,779 1.95% 84,723 12.41% 2020 215,70168.69% 39,571 20.36% 55,118 29.32% 2021 134,30537.74% 54,943 38.85% 70,387 27.70% 2022 585,036 335.60% 43,205 21.36% 74,710 6.14% 2023 1,520,255 159.86% 37,694 12.76% 78,816 5.50% 2024 1,704,011 12.09% 39,109 3.75% 79,576 0.96% 2025 1,927,498 13.11% 30,398 22.27% 81,748 2.73%

Top destinations + Busiest domestic routes at TLC (Jan–Dec 2025) Rank City Passengers 1 Monterrey, Nuevo León 280,140 2 Cancún, Quintana Roo 217,652 3 San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur 94,625 4 Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco 84,073 5 Mérida, Yucatán 73,862 6 Guadalajara, Jalisco 73,604 7 Tijuana, Baja California 59,384

Ground transportation

The primary transportation to and from the airport is currently by road, with car rental and taxi services available. The airport lacks consistent public transport, private shuttles, and bus services. However, a shuttle connecting to the Toluca-Mexico City train line El Insurgente is expected to start in 2024, connecting to the Metepec railway station and improving overall accessibility.

Accidents and incidents On 15 December 2025, a Cessna Citation III flying from Acapulco International Airport crashed 800 meters from the runway during an attempted emergency landing on a football pitch. The crash killed all 10 people on board the plane. The crash started a large fire, which caused the evacuation of around 130 people in the area.

Toluca International Airport

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