Mexican army-run airline’s first flight takes off for Caribbean resort, launching new era of government-run tourist flights
- The Mexican armed forces’ holding company operates hotels, airports, trains and tourist parks, and now the revamped Mexicana airline
- Tickets for the first flight, from Mexico City to Tulum cost about US$92, 33 per cent less than those for commercial flights, according to the government
Mexico launched its army-run airline on Tuesday, when the first relaunched Mexicana flight took off from Mexico City for the Caribbean resort of Tulum.
It was another sign of the outsized role that President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has given to Mexico’s armed forces. The airline’s military-run holding company now also operates about a dozen airports, hotels, trains, the country’s customs service and tourist parks.
General Luís Cresencio Sandoval, Mexico’s defence secretary, said that having those diverse businesses run by the military was “common in developed countries”.
In fact, only a few countries – such as Cuba, Sri Lanka, Argentina and Colombia – have military-run airlines. They are mostly small carriers with a handful of propeller planes that operate mostly on underserved or remote domestic routes.
But it’s envisaged that Mexicana will carry tourists from Mexican cities to resorts such as Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Zihuatanejo, Acapulco and Mazatlan. Flights appear to be scheduled every three or four days, largely on weekends.
