German carrier Lufthansa announced plans to increase weekly flight frequencies between Mexico City International Airport (AICM) and Munich from three to five starting this winter. Though the crowded AICM has yet to approve the new flights, routes to Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA) are not under consideration due to lack of infrastructure and domestic connections, the carrier said.

In a press conference, global Sales VP Frank Naeve said the flights are still subject to the government’s approval, adding that their interest in increasing its seating capacity between Munich and Mexico City has not been officially communicated to the AICM administration.

“This decision to supplement flights is very recent. The truth is, we haven’t had time to approach the authorities,” Alejandro Arias, CEO of Lufthansa Group for Mexico and Latin America, told El Financiero.

If demand is sufficient, Naeve said, it is the company’s intention to maintain these five weekly flights permanently, not just seasonally.

Lufthansa Group offers direct routes between Germany and Mexico, with around 579,000 passengers annually according to figures from the Mexican aeronautical authority corresponding to the end of last year.

The carrier uses the Airbus A350-900 for service from Munich, while the daily route to Frankfurt use the Boeing 747-8 — all from AICM.

AICM is currently capped at 44 flights per hour based on an air capacity study, and Naeve acknowledged that while the number of slots at AICM is limited for now, he hopes that in the future authorities will expand the capacity of the terminals to accommodate more operations.

Naeve said the company has no plans for passenger operations at AIFA due to it being difficult to reach for potential passengers and its lack of domestic connections.

AIFA is located some 45 kilometers from downtown Mexico City, and about 35 to 45 kilometers from AICM. From downtown, a typical car ride can take around 1 to 1.5 hours without traffic. In contrast, it takes less than 30 minutes to reach AICM from downtown under similar conditions.

With reports from El Financiero and Info Aviación