Why do we want aviation in Mexico?

There has been much talk about state policy on aviation. Last week, the Secretary of Infrastructure, Communications, and Transportation (SITC), Jesús Antonio Esteva, said that a state policy on this issue will be in place by 2026. At the same time, the director of the Federal Aviation Agency (AFAC), Miguel Enrique Vallín Osuna, read out a list of topics that should be included in that policy or in the one that AFAC itself is developing.

The truth is that aviation policy cannot be summarized in the sections on what the Mexican government must do if it intends to remain a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). That is, the six strategic pillars outlined in the "Challenges of the New Aeronautical Policy" that the director of AFAC read at the anniversary ceremony of Airports and Auxiliary Services (ASA) last week. These six pillars seem more like an index of the requirements that a country like ours must meet, no matter what, to have an airline industry.

The most important thing for an industrial policy (and aviation policy is one of them) would be to have a long-term vision, a horizon that profiles our air transport industry for the next 30 or 50 years. In other words, Mexico should decide whether it will use its comparative advantages (its geographic location, its airport network, the specialization of its workforce, its bilateral aviation agreements and trade treaties, its centuries-long experience in the air transport industry, etc.) to become a hub for connectivity both inward and outward. That is: Use our airports as hubs (aircraft distribution centers) to connect North America with South America, Europe with Asia, and all of these points with each other; reach an agreement with private airlines and airports, associations and unions, academia, users, travel agencies, etc. so that all our aeronautical wealth is allocated to a single objective: to grow, be competitive, attract tourists, transport goods to other countries, develop development centers, be one of the top five in the world in the aerospace industry and in foreign currency raising.

Without a clear goal, without indicators to measure it, without using our strengths to achieve objectives that are possible, we will get nowhere. Without a destination, there is no direction, no speed, and no height. This is the first requirement for a long-term policy.

The rest, without a doubt, must be the path to achieving our goal: our bilateral agreements, the facilities for airlines to operate, the role that state-owned airlines and airports will play.

And, perhaps most importantly, national civil aviation must be under a single command, in the hands of the agencies designated for that purpose, namely the SICT, the civil authority that must have the authority to oversee the fate of state-owned airports and airlines. While the Navy and Army may be assigned to operate them, overall management must be in the hands of the civil authority. Otherwise, there will be no valid state policy.