Viva Aerobus has become the latest Mexican airline expanding its operations from Mexico City’s Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), with plans to open 17 new routes from the airport by next summer.

Besides the new routes, Viva Aerobus also plans to add more flights to the ten destinations it already offers from the airport.

“Viva will convert this new airport into a strategic hub in the center of the country by offering 4.5 million seats by 2024; this means that the airline will quintuple its capacity in AIFA in the summer of 2024 compared to 2023,” the company said in a statement.

New routes to Tulum, Guadalajara, Ciudad Juárez and Mérida will open in December; to Huatulco, Chihuahua, Reynosa, Nuevo Laredo, Veracruz, Tampico and Villahermosa in January; to Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Puerto Vallarta, Chetumal and Los Cabos in April; and to Ciudad Obregón and Durango in July.

Once the new routes are open, Viva will operate a total of 27 routes, 72 daily flights and have 12 aircraft based at AIFA.

“AIFA thanks Viva Aerobus for the confidence it has placed in this new airport,” said General Isidoro Pastor, director general of the airport. “This historic growth of Viva marks a before and after in the connectivity of Mexico City.”

Viva stressed that its expansion in AIFA was “backed by a solid preference and trust of passengers,” with airline passenger numbers surpassing 600,000 people from January and August 2023.

The low-cost carrier is the latest to significantly increase its services from AIFA, after Aeroméxico announced plans last week to grow its total operations at the airport by 40%, mostly by moving flights from the older Mexico City International Airport (AICM).

The military-built AIFA opened in March 2022 and was intended to relieve pressure on the AICM. However, the transfer of flights to AIFA has been slower than hoped, partly due to problems with the new airport’s infrastructure.

The reinstatement of Mexico’s Category 1 safety rating by the U.S. FAA last month has airlines rushing to take advantage of an expected jump in demand, which could bring more growth to AIFA.

With reports from El Financiero and Expansón