AIFA now serves 47 destinations, up from 7 in 2022: Thursday’s mañanera recapped

• ✈️ AIFA now serves 40 domestic and 7 international destinations: Airport director Isidoro Pastor Román said that since opening in March 2022, the Army-built airport has grown the number of destinations it serves from seven to 47. He also said more than 22 million passengers have used the airport, and highlighted that AIFA now handles more cargo than any other Mexican airport.
• 🚓 García Harfuch reminds Querétaro governor that police academy collaboration with US must follow Mexican law: Sheinbaum said Security Minister Omar García Harfuch told Governor Mauricio Kuri that for any security collaboration with a foreign government, legal procedure must be followed. She said the same message was conveyed to U.S. Ambassador Ronald Johnson. Sheinbaum said both men committed to working “within the framework of Mexico’s Constitution.”
• 🤝 Sheinbaum and Johnson to meet at National Palace today: Sheinbaum said the U.S. ambassador would accompany business leaders at a meeting on Thursday. She didn’t say whether she would raise the police academy project with him.

Why today’s mañanera matters

Passenger numbers at the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), the Army-built airport north of Mexico City in México state, are still dwarfed by passenger numbers at the Mexico City International Airport (AICM).

However, information presented at President Sheinbaum’s Thursday morning press conference showed that the airport has made significant progress since opening in early 2022, attracting more airlines and expanding the number of destinations it serves. Since April, AIFA has been connected to central Mexico City by train, making the airport more accessible to residents of the capital.

Also of note at today’s mañanera — Sheinbaum’s 500th morning press conference as president — was the revelation that federal Security Minister Omar García Harfuch spoke to Querétaro Governor Mauricio Kuri about the International Police Training Academy project in the Bajío region state.

The Querétaro government has been collaborating with U.S. authorities on the project, but that collaboration has not been approved by the federal government, as required by law.

Sheinbaum first spoke about the police academy project on Monday, three days after U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson attended an event in Querétaro at which the cornerstone of the facility was laid.

She questioned the establishment of the academy and the United States’ involvement in the project. In addition, Sheinbaum indicated that her government knew little about the project and declared that such an academy cannot be established without federal authorization.

AIFA now serves 40 Mexican and 7 international destinations 

AIFA director Isidoro Pastor Román reported that the airport is currently serving 40 domestic destinations and seven international destinations, among which are Havana, Caracas, Bogotá and Santo Domingo. Five Mexican passenger airlines and two foreign ones fly to and from AIFA, he said.

Pastor said that 22.66 million passengers have used the airport since it opened in March 2022. Passenger numbers have increased gradually since the airport opened, reaching 7.1 million last year — equivalent to 16% of the 2025 total at AICM.

Pastor reported that 53 cargo airlines have used the airport. AIFA now handles more cargo than any other airport in Mexico, he said.

Pastor said that the “financial profitability” of the airport was achieved in the first quarter of 2024. He told reporters that the operation of the airport has created 18,000 direct jobs and 150,000 indirect ones.

Toward the end of his presentation, the AIFA chief displayed a range of information that showed how the airport has grown since it opened in early 2022. He reported that:

• The number of passenger airlines serving the airport has increased from four to seven.
• The number of domestic destinations served by the airport has increased from six to 40.
• The number of international destinations served by the airport has increased from one to seven.
• The number of cargo airlines using the airport has increased from two to 53.

García Harfuch reminds Kuri that Querétaro-US police academy collaboration must follow Mexican law

Sheinbaum told reporters that Security Minister García Harfuch spoke to Querétaro Governor Kuri about collaboration with the United States on the International Police Training Academy.

“Omar spoke to Governor Kuri and told him: ‘Remember that for any collaboration [with a foreign government] there is a law and a procedure,'” she said.

Sheinbaum said that the same message was conveyed to U.S. Ambassador Johnson.

“Both said, ‘Yes, we have to collaborate within the framework of Mexico’s Constitution,'” she said.

“… Governor Kuri even issued a message saying, ‘I’m not going to violate anything, but rather … I’m going to request permission … [for] collaboration [with the U.S.] when the academy starts operating,” Sheinbaum said.

Sheinbaum to attend meeting with Ambassador Johnson

A reporter referred to reporting — based on an X post by journalist Ioan Grillo — that U.S. Ambassador Johnson has sought to meet with Sheinbaum, but the president has declined.

Before the reporter could finish her question, Sheinbaum interrupted to say that Johnson would come to the National Palace on Thursday.

US ambassador to Mexico Ronald Johnson wants to be meeting with President Claudia Sheinbaum, but she is turning him down, possibly wary of how it will be reported/ wanting to keep distance, a US embassy official tells me. Sheinbaum talks with Trump by phone about once a month.

— Ioan Grillo (@ioangrillo) October 7, 2026

“He’s coming today,” she said.

“He’s coming today because we have a meeting with businesspeople from the United States, from the American Chamber [of Commerce of Mexico]. Well, Mexican-Americans or Mexicans,” Sheinbaum said.

“… Various businesspeople are coming and the U.S. ambassador will accompany them. So he’s coming today,” she said.

Sheinbaum didn’t say whether she would raise the issue of the International Police Training Academy project with Johnson. However, at a meeting focused on business and investment, it would appear unlikely that the issue will be broached.