The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has just placed new restrictions on flights from Mexico to the United States, citing ongoing concerns over how Mexico treats U.S. airlines and longstanding issues with the Delta–Aeroméxico joint venture. These actions mark an escalation in aviation tensions between the two countries — and if they sound familiar, it’s because they’ve been brewing for years.
Three Big Changes
There are three main parts to this latest round of restrictions:
- All Mexican airlines must now submit their full U.S. flight schedules to the DOT for advance approval. This applies to passenger, cargo, and charter flights, and could mean more red tape and slower turnaround times for airlines trying to adjust their schedules or add new services.
- The DOT may deny new route requests from Mexican carriers until it believes U.S. airlines are being treated fairly in Mexico. This could make it harder to launch new flights between the two countries, at least in the near future.
- The DOT has issued a “show cause” order to revoke antitrust immunity for the Delta–Aeroméxico partnership. The two airlines had been operating under a joint venture that allowed coordination on routes, schedules, and pricing — but that arrangement has been under fire for some time.
The NLU Problem, Revisited
If you’ve been following aviation news in Mexico, none of this should come as a huge surprise. Back in 2022, we wrote about Mexico’s controversial push to force flights away from Mexico City’s main airport (MEX) and into the then-newly constructed Felipe Ángeles International Airport (NLU). At the time, the government claimed the shift would reduce congestion at Benito Juárez International — but airlines and travelers criticized the move, pointing out that NLU was poorly located and lacked infrastructure.
The DOT now says that this kind of forced relocation — along with Mexico’s shifting of cargo operations and reallocation of landing slots — violates the bilateral air transport agreement and unfairly disadvantages U.S. airlines.
The Delta–Aeroméxico Joint Venture: A Long Battle
The Delta–Aeroméxico joint venture began in 2017 and has operated on a metal-neutral, antitrust-immunized basis — meaning the two airlines coordinate schedules, pricing, and routes, and share revenue across U.S.–Mexico flights. Delta also owns a 20% stake in Aeroméxico.
But the partnership has been in jeopardy since 2020, when the initial authority granted by the DOT in late 2016 expired. Since then, the JV has operated under tentative extensions, subject to increasing scrutiny.
In 2024, the Biden administration moved to terminate the JV, with an expected shutdown in October of that year. At the time, Delta issued a strong response defending the partnership, calling it “pro-competitive and pro-consumer.” But while the DOT set a deadline, it never formally enforced it — until now. Under this latest action, the joint venture is slated to end by October 2025, a full year after the original termination date.
Mexico’s Response: Not Backing Down
Mexico, for its part, doesn’t appear to be reversing course. In a recent news conference, President Claudia Sheinbaum said there is “no reason” for the U.S. to impose sanctions related to changes at Mexico City’s airports. She also ruled out any reallocation of flights, indicating the government stands by its strategy to consolidate traffic at NLU and restructure air traffic in the capital.
Is This Really About Flights?
While the specific issues of airport access and airline coordination are real, some analysts believe there’s more going on beneath the surface.
According to Fernando Gomez, an independent airline industry expert, the timing of the restrictions suggests that the U.S. may be using aviation policy as a bargaining chip. He says the real goal is to gain leverage ahead of the upcoming review of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA), which replaced NAFTA in 2020. That trade agreement requires a mandatory joint review after six years, and that clock runs out in 2026.
“They are using this as a springboard to gain leverage, just as they did with tariffs and immigration,” Gomez said. “USMCA is their ultimate goal.”
So while these latest DOT actions may seem like aviation housekeeping, it’s easy to see how they could be part of a much broader negotiation strategy.
What It Means for Travelers
These new restrictions likely won’t cancel your upcoming trip, but they could lead to:
- Delays in adding new flights between the U.S. and Mexico
- Increased administrative hurdles for Mexican carriers flying to the U.S.
- Reduced coordination between Delta and Aeroméxico, especially on key transborder routes
Whether this standoff leads to broader fallout or just more paperwork will depend on how both governments play their next moves — and whether aviation becomes yet another bargaining chip in bigger political and economic debates.
Final Thought
The U.S.–Mexico aviation relationship has been strained for years, but this latest move by the DOT puts those tensions into formal policy. Whether it’s about slots at a controversial airport or strategic positioning ahead of trade talks, there’s clearly more at stake than just flights. And unfortunately, as usual, it’s the traveling public that may feel the squeeze.
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