he Trump administration has announced sweeping new restrictions on flights from Mexico and threatened to dismantle a key aviation partnership between Delta Air Lines and Aeromexico, escalating a trade dispute over alleged violations of a U.S.-Mexico aviation agreement.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the measures were a direct response to the Mexican government’s ongoing efforts to shift airline traffic away from Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International Airport to the more distant Felipe Ángeles International Airport, roughly 30 miles outside the capital. According to Duffy, the move gives Mexican carriers an unfair competitive edge and breaches a long-standing bilateral aviation accord.
“Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg allowed Mexico to trample our aviation agreement,” Duffy said, referencing the former administration. “That ends now. These actions should serve as a warning: no country can exploit the U.S., its carriers, or its markets. ‘America First’ means standing up for fairness.”
Effective immediately, all Mexican airlines — including passenger, cargo, and charter operators — will be required to submit their flight schedules to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for prior approval. These controls will remain in place until Duffy deems Mexico compliant with the trade agreement.
While it remains unclear how the move will impact broader trade tensions or ongoing tariff negotiations, Mexico’s government has yet to formally respond. President Claudia Sheinbaum’s office did not return requests for comment, and she made no mention of the issue during public appearances Saturday.
The decision also puts the future of the Delta-Aeromexico joint venture, formed in 2016, in jeopardy. The partnership, which allows the airlines to coordinate schedules and share revenue, has been under scrutiny by the DOT since last year. Both companies argue that punishing them for a government decision is unjust and would disrupt nearly two dozen transborder routes and jeopardize $800 million in economic benefits tied to tourism and job creation.
“The DOT’s proposed termination of this strategic, pro-competitive alliance would harm U.S. and Mexican consumers, threaten jobs, and weaken cross-border competition,” Delta said in a statement.
Aeromexico acknowledged the order and said it is preparing a joint response with Delta.
While the order to dissolve the partnership is only scheduled to take effect in October, both airlines are expected to mount a legal and regulatory fight in hopes of reversing the decision. In filings to the DOT, they warned that eliminating these direct routes could dissuade more than 140,000 American and 90,000 Mexican travelers from visiting each other’s countries annually, causing economic fallout on both sides of the border.
