Faced with the political pressures posed by the opening of Santa Lucía and a lack of knowledge on the subject, the new AICM design poses a risk to aeronautical operations, since, within a month of its implementation, daily incidents have been reported, pilots and controllers have said.

It was only on March 25 that the Ministry of Communications and Transport (SCT) launched the first phase of the airspace redesign that involves operations at the Terminals of Mexico City and Toluca. The second phase is planned in one year, with the opening of Felipe Angeles International Airport.

According to the unit led by Jorge Arganis, it was tested in different scenarios and flight simulators by domestic and foreign pilots in order to ensure compliance with the criteria of quality, efficiency and safety. However, pilots and operators claim otherwise, reporting that these omissions have already caused incidents to set off alerts.

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Speaking with LPO, the Secretary General of the National Air Traffic Controllers Union (SINACTA), Alfredo Covarrubias Aguilar, said that the procedures were "untested and without adequate training," and added that no recommendations from operators and pilots were considered. "During training, colleagues detected errors and inconsistencies, but they weren't taken into account," he explained.

These errors, Covarrubias warned, can lead to serious accidents: "Colleagues have reported daily incidents, related to aircraft separation, which is the distance with which planes fly. That can cause shocks." He also acknowledged that these reports have been concealed by Air Navigation Services in Mexican Airspace (Seneam).

President López Obrador in Santa Lucia.

THE SINCATA spokesman detailed that among the design errors is the fact that there were ten sectors, when there were eight before, ending up with fewer people to control them. "This causes communication failures and that explains why the anti-shock alarm was triggered several times. When the controller wants to communicate with the pilot, it turns out that the frequency of operations is saturated," he said. 

Colleagues have reported daily incidents, related to aircraft separation, which is the distance with which planes fly. That can cause shocks

He indicated that they had sought out the authorities, but got no answers, despite the urgency of finding a solution to prevent an accident. He even highlighted that the risk may be higher later, as the air terminal currently operates at about 50% of its capacity, due to the pandemic.

But what is the reason for this poor design? There are a number of factors being considered. On the one hand, he accuses that there was pressure to "report to the president" these advances, which had to be done before the opening of the Santa Lucía terminal. It should be noted that this new design was being projected since 2018, so it had already been delayed and the deadline could not be extended any longer.

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He also pointed out a lack of direction from Seneam, the organ that depends on the SCT, which is managed by Victor Manuel Hernández Sandoval. "There are ideas, but not knowledge and an urgency to meet the agenda of the President of the Republic, so there was even a great campaign for this new design, which was not done before, as if to show that they are working, because they are concerned that there will be no progress towards Santa Lucía," he said.

In this regard, Covarrubias stated that an interdisciplinary group meeting is necessary to be able to put on the table all the mistakes made, and train people and to use simulators correctly. "We do not oppose Santa Lucía, on the contrary, but it must be done correctly to ensure the safety of operations and avoid an accident."