The Querétaro International Airport (AIQ) may be the first airport in the country to host an aerospace port.

Preliminary studies show that AIQ has the appropriate conditions to operate a spacecraft takeoff and landing base, according to Marco Antonio del Prete, Querétaro’s secretary of sustainable development. These positive features include the airport’s location, good weather conditions (low humidity without high temperatures), lack of extreme weather events, low population density around the airport, and a more than 4-kilometer runway.

The studies are a step toward becoming a certified aerospace port with the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The next step is to obtain final approval from the FAA, a process that will take about six months. A consulting firm from the U.S. is advising AIQ to achieve the final certification.

Del Prete explained that the upcoming assessment will determine whether additional infrastructure in the airport would be needed. These may include hangars, fuel storage tanks or other specific requirements.

According to Del Prete, no airport in the region provides assistance to spaceships. “This would be the first spaceport in the country and probably in Latin America,” he said.

This certification would first allow Querétaro to expand its presence in the aerospace industry and attract companies in the sector interested in developing ships and manufacturing components for the aerospace industry, Del Prete added. Looking forward, they would use Querétaro airport as a spacecraft take-off and landing base.

“This is a niche industry, because it is not that developed. But the sector is becoming democratized; it is becoming more and more commercial. There are more companies that are starting to venture into this field, and the space port will help us attract them,” Del Prete explained.

Querétaro is a major hub for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Mexican aerospace industry. From 2006 to the first quarter of 2024, Querétaro captured 7.8% of FDI in the industry as per figures from the Economy Ministry. In that period, the country received US $3.7 billion in aerospace investment, mainly from the United States, France and Spain.

Del Prete has praised the rise of aerospace supply in the state, particularly in maintenance, heat treatments, and engine parts production.

With reports from Milenio, Cluster Industrial and El Economista