On October 16, 2026, the US Department of Transportation revoked the order that had stopped Mexican airlines from adding US routes from Mexico City for a year (Reuters, Bloomberg). Aeroméxico, Volaris and Viva can again apply for new US routes and more flights from both Mexico City airports: Benito Juárez (AICM, code MEX) and Felipe Ángeles (AIFA, code NLU).
What the freeze did
The DOT's order of October 28, 2025 disapproved 13 routes: 11 from AIFA and 2 from AICM, and it froze any growth by Mexican airlines from AICM (Mexico Business News, Simple Flying). The DOT said Mexico had not kept to the US–Mexico air transport agreement since 2022, when it cut the number of flights allowed at AICM and moved cargo airlines out to AIFA.
| Airline | From | To | Status in 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aeroméxico | AIFA | Houston (IAH) | Flying — stopped by Nov 7, 2025 |
| Aeroméxico | AIFA | McAllen (MFE) | Flying — stopped by Nov 7, 2025 |
| Aeroméxico | Mexico City | San Juan (SJU) | Planned |
| Volaris | AICM | Newark (EWR) | Planned |
| Viva | AIFA | Austin, Chicago O'Hare, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, Orlando | Planned — 9 routes |
The two governments signed a memorandum on May 1, 2026, covering fair access to AICM's flight slots for US airlines and to cargo facilities at both airports (Mexico Business News). Mexico's government credits that agreement for the reversal (Aviacionline).
What changes now, and what doesn't
- New routes are allowed again, but none are announced yet. The revocation does not bring back the cancelled flights by itself. Each airline still has to file the route and sell it.
- The DOT keeps watching. Mexican airlines must still file their US schedules with the DOT and get approval for flights on widebody aircraft, and two other DOT orders stay in place (Reuters).
- Delta and Aeroméxico are a separate story. The DOT ended their joint venture's antitrust immunity in 2025, but on August 20, 2026 a federal appeals court set that order aside, so the two airlines still coordinate their US–Mexico schedules and fares (AeroTime).
- Most of the blocked routes were from AIFA. Nine of the thirteen were Viva's planned AIFA routes, and AIFA has no US passenger nonstop in our data today.
Every Mexico City–US nonstop today
From AICM (MEX), 26 US airports have a nonstop in our route data. From AIFA (NLU), none do. The typical round trip is the middle of the economy fares we have seen for the route, for one adult. It is not a price you can book. A dash means we don't yet hold enough fares to say.
| To | Airlines | Typical round trip |
|---|---|---|
| Chicago (ORD) | American Airlines, Aeromexico, United Airlines, VivaAerobus, Volaris | — |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | American Airlines, Aeromexico, Delta Air Lines, VivaAerobus, Volaris | $606 |
| Houston (IAH) | Aeromexico, United Airlines, VivaAerobus, Volaris | — |
| New York (JFK) | American Airlines, Aeromexico, Delta Air Lines, VivaAerobus | — |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | American Airlines, Aeromexico, Volaris | — |
| Denver (DEN) | Aeromexico, United Airlines, Volaris | — |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | Aeromexico, VivaAerobus, Volaris | — |
| Miami (MIA) | American Airlines, Aeromexico, Volaris | — |
| San Antonio (SAT) | Aeromexico, VivaAerobus, Volaris | — |
| Detroit (DTW) | Aeromexico, Delta Air Lines | — |
| Dulles (IAD) | Aeromexico, United Airlines | — |
| Newark (EWR) | Aeromexico, United Airlines | $844 |
| Orlando (MCO) | Aeromexico, Volaris | — |
| Phoenix (PHX) | American Airlines, Aeromexico | — |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | Aeromexico, Delta Air Lines | — |
| San Francisco (SFO) | Aeromexico, United Airlines | — |
| Atlanta (ATL) | Delta Air Lines | $973 |
| Austin (AUS) | Aeromexico | — |
| Boston (BOS) | Aeromexico | — |
| Charlotte (CLT) | American Airlines | — |
| Minneapolis (MSP) | Delta Air Lines | — |
| Oakland (OAK) | Volaris | — |
| Philadelphia (PHL) | Aeromexico | — |
| Raleigh/Durham (RDU) | Aeromexico | — |
| Seattle (SEA) | Aeromexico | — |
| Tampa (TPA) | Aeromexico | — |
The table above reads our live route data, so a new Mexico City–US nonstop appears in it once airlines put it on sale. To hear when a fare on one of these routes drops, open the route and track it.