Concerns raised over management of Mexico City's airspace

Pilots and airlines have expressed concerns over an increase in dangerous incidents in Mexico City’s airspace since it was redesigned to accommodate a second airport

MEXICO CITY -- Pilots and airlines have expressed concerns over an increase in potentially dangerous incidents in Mexico City’s airspace since it was redesigned to accommodate a second airport, including alerts that planes could crash unless action was taken.

In the past year, there were at least 17 incidents of ground proximity warning system alerts for planes approaching Mexico City's Benito Juarez International Airport, according to a letter the International Air Transport Association, which represents some 290 airlines, wrote this week to the head of Mexican Airspace Navigation Services, the government agency responsible for managing the airspace.

“As you know, these alarms, without the quick action of the flight crew, can lead to a scenario of controlled flight into terrain, CFIT, considered by the industry to be one of the highest risk indicators in operational safety, and with the highest accident rate, as well as fatalities,” the letter said. The Mexican agency referred a request for comment to the transportation ministry Friday.

The association said the main factor in the incidents appeared to be air traffic controllers not using standard phraseology in their communications with flight crews. It requested a meeting with Mexican aviation authorities as soon as possible.