Mexico’s airfreight industry is at a pivotal juncture. It remains a vital link in North American trade, with robust backbone of US-Mexico lanes, emerging domestic hubs and evolving Asia connections. US tariffs are a short term headwind, but continued demand from manufacturing, ecommerce and logistics modernisation suggests long term promise – provided stakeholders remain agile amid global policy shifts.
At the moment, Mexico sees no reason for US to impose sanctions on airlines. President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo has stated Mexico has not received any formal notice from Washington regarding potential sanctions over its flight slot reallocations and cargo carrier shifts at Mexico City airports. However, the US threatens Mexican airline flights over competition issues. The US Department of Transportation (US DOT) has warned it could deny future Mexican flight requests and revoke antitrust immunity for the Delta–Aeromexico joint venture along with possible restrictions on Mexican flights, following accusations of unfair practices by Mexico’s government. These include the controversial 2023 decision to relocate all-cargo carriers to a less central Mexico City airport. US authorities have warned that such actions could violate competition standards, prompting a strong regulatory response aimed at preserving fair access and operations in the international aviation market. This could affect nearly two dozen routes.
The year has not started well for Mexican air cargo as volumes dropped 5.2% under tariff pressure. This was driven by US tariffs and economic slowdown, with freighter activity shifting from AIFA (Felipe Ángeles International Airport, also known as Mexico City Felipe Ángeles International Airport or simply Mexico City-AIFA) to belly hold at Mexico City Airport.
The airfreight sector in Mexico was valued at approximately $3.83 billion in 2024, with projected expansion to $6.39 billion by 2033, at a CAGR (Compound annual growth rate) of 5.3%. Last year, international cargo surged 7% year-on-year, propelling growth. However, in the first four months of 2025, this reversed: international volumes dropped 6.8–7%, leading to an overall 5% decline in tonnage.
Key trade lanes
More than two-thirds of transborder tonnage landed or flown US-Mexico is lifted on maindeck freighter aircraft; the remainder moves on belly hold capacity of U.S. Mexico passenger aircraft. Major operators for belly hold are Aeroméxico (65% share), followed by American and United. FedEx, UPS, DHL dominate the all-cargo segment. Four airports function as cargo hubs: Guadalajara is the top gateway for freighter traffic, with Monterrey, Querétaro and Toluca also significant freight gateways.
Because of the vastness of the Pacific, many inbound loads from Asia, such as electronics and garments, land in the US at Anchorage, Los Angeles or Chicago and then move onward to Mexico, making up around 30–50% of the southbound US–Mexico air cargo flow.
Ecommerce growth of 20% YoY (Year on Year) has made Querétaro a key domestic hub for operators such as Amazon, Mercado Libre as domestic airports like Queretaro (+6.5%), Mexico City (+5 7%), contrasted with declines in Toluca, Tijuana.
US tariffs and their impact
Effective 1 August, the US plans to impose a 30% tariff on all Mexican imports, with an additional 17.56% on tomatoes. In May 2025, US-Mexico trade reached approximately $74.5 billion. Airfreight volumes declined by 6.8–7% in early 2025, driven by tariff concerns, with a 5.2% YoY drop from January to April. Shippers are front-loading goods, creating temporary surges at border points. High-impact sectors include fresh produce and electronics, with perishable goods costs potentially rising 30%. Exporters are considering sea/land alternatives, while carriers and forwarders remain cautious amid predictions that tariffs may hinder nearshoring trends.
Security rules around fentanyl, cargo crime and infrastructure shifts increase complexity for airfreight shippers and players.
ACS Mexico keeps things brewing
Those who enjoy a cold Mexican beer had good cause to raise a glass to UK-based Air Charter Service’s Mexican office. It was contacted recently by a leading alcoholic beverage manufacturer in Mexico, who was facing a brewery shut down and needed just over half a tonne of beer hops transported from Washington State to Mexico City, a journey of more than two and a half thousand miles, within the next 24 hours.
Marco Circosta, ACS Mexico’s CEO, commented: “We were contacted by our freight forwarder customer in Mexico whose client’s brewery urgently needed a delivery of hops to avoid a production line shut down. The hops needed to be in Mexico within 24 hours of the customer first contacting us, so we quickly got to work sourcing an aircraft and found a Falcon 20, that was available nearby and was easily loadable, as it had a side cargo door that could fit the 561-kilogram load in on just one pallet.
“A complication was that, as the cargo was not travelling under refrigeration, we needed to co-ordinate with all relevant parties in order to minimise exposure to external conditions, by expediting the customs, loading and offloading processes. From initial phone call to completion of the charter was just under 20 hours, ensuring the production line could keep on running.”
To and from the Americas
Aeroméxico Cargo, wholly owned by Aeroméxico and based in Mexico City, operates around 550 daily cargo flights serving Mexico’s top cities and 16 international destinations across North, Central and South America, with direct links to Europe and Asia – unique among Latin American carriers.
The fleet mirrors Aeroméxico’s mainline aircraft, including Boeing 737-series for regional and domestic freight and long-haul Boeing 787‑8 and 787‑9 Dreamliners for intercontinental routes
In 2024, Aeroméxico Cargo transported over 162,000 tonnes of merchandise – a record volume – and aims to scale further with three additional 787 deliveries in 2025. It has also implemented Wiremind Cargo’s SkyPallet digital optimisation system to enhance revenue management, load planning, and pallet efficiency as part of its digital transformation plan in 2023–24.
Strategic network collaborations continue to expand reach: since April 2025, Aeroméxico Cargo has partnered with Uzbekistan‑based My Freighter in an interline agreement to extend cargo connections between Mexico and Central Asia, giving access via hubs like Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, and Tashkent
Aeroméxico Cargo combines high-frequency regional and long-haul capacity, sophisticated digital tools like SkyPallet, and expanding partnerships to grow its footprint across the Americas and Asia.
