On Monday, Very simple Traveling had the opportunity to vacation internationally, departing from Mexico City’s new Felipe Ángeles Intercontinental Airport (NLU). We ended up onboard Arajet’s flight DM4341 to Santo Domingo Las Américas International (SDQ) in the Dominican Republic. This is the second time this yr that we have been onboard a flight departing from this hub, inaugurated on March 21, 2022.
How was the expertise nine months later?
The Felipe Ángeles Airport is pretty beautiful. It is a little hub –there had been only 21 scheduled flights to leave on Monday operated by 5 carriers– which will make it a lot easier to navigate through. Our flight still left at 10:55, so we arrived 3 several hours previously, not since we needed to, but because we desired to tour the airport once again.
The lack of floor connectivity proceeds to be Felipe Angeles’ primary region of concern. Acquiring to the new airport is pretty much impossible if it is not carried out by vehicle, which reflects the highly-priced taxi and Uber fares. Nevertheless, the Mexican governing administration is functioning on adding a lot more connectivity that will make it possible for passengers to get to NLU less complicated, a lot quicker, and cheaper. We departed from Mexico Town (from a place close to the Mexico Town International Airport), and it took us 45 minutes to get to the Felipe Ángeles. Not negative.
The final time we ended up at the Felipe Ángeles, the airport had just opened 3 days earlier. That time we flew with Volaris on a domestic assistance to Tijuana International (TIJ). In the initially three months, the new airport only experienced 12 each day flights, six departures, and six arrivals, and closed by 15:00. In December, the airport has 214 weekly flights scheduled, in accordance to details by Cirium. It is not a 24-hour airport nevertheless, as the final flight departs at all around 20:00.
Even so, the airport is busier now. Extra dining establishments and retailers have opened their doorways, like two Priority Pass lounges for travellers fascinated in having a additional VIP working experience. Fortuitously, the queues for boarding and safety keep on being quick and quick to navigate, which boosts the passenger expertise.
The negative
We have already reviewed the deficiency of ground connectivity. Which is some thing that wants to be resolved for the airport to come to be a genuine option for Mexican vacationers. Yet another point that requirements to be tackled is the deficiency of travel selections. As of December, 18 metropolitan areas (together with 4 international) have immediate connectivity from NLU. Only eleven have daily connectivity from NLU, with Cancún, Guadalajara, and Monterrey remaining the most served destinations.
Inside the airport, there is a absence of commercial variety. There are not numerous foods selections and fewer retail outlets. But what surprised us the most was the pretty much complete lack of currency trade suppliers. There’s only a single, and it was shut when we traveled. Even though there are only a handful of international locations, that is no justification not to have trade shops for international vacationers.
Photograph: Daniel Martínez Garbuno | Simple Traveling.
How a lot of passengers has NLU acquired in 2022?
Mexico City’s new airport has moved gradually in its to start with yr of operations. In accordance to info from the Mexican Federal government, Felipe Ángeles Worldwide has received 472,924 tourists involving March and Oct. Internationally, the airport has been given only 7,804 travellers from two expert services, Arajet’s flight from Santo Domingo and Copa Airways from Panama City. For some explanation, the Mexican governing administration does not publish the targeted traffic stats by Conviasa’s worldwide services from Caracas.
Among April and July, the airport remained stagnant in the selection of month-to-month travellers. It averaged about 34,400 travellers in that time. Because August, passenger stats have exploded, raising by 517{32bc5e747b31d501df756e0d52c4fc33c2ecc33869222042bcd2be76582ed298} in October versus July, fueled by additional airlines launching routes.
Regrettably, there have been couple of route announcements lately. Mexico stays downgraded to Group 2 by the Federal Aviation Corporation (FAA), which impacts the chance of opening new routes to the United States from the Felipe Ángeles Airport.
Would you like to travel from Mexico City’s new intercontinental airport? Permit us know in the comments below.
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