Mexico City’s airport was supposed to be entering its World Cup pause with the worst of its renovation work behind it. Instead, travelers are still encountering traffic at entrances, limited parking, closed areas, longer walks, and poor signage in both terminals. The friction is landing at a sensitive moment, with the tournament opening in Mexico City on June 11 and AICM serving as one of the country’s main arrival points for fans, crews, officials, and regular passengers.
AICM travel problems stretch into World Cup countdown
Travelers moving through Mexico City International Airport are still facing traffic, limited parking, long walks, repairs, and weak signage, less than two weeks before the opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
A field report published Friday described heavy traffic at airport entrances, parking problems at Terminal 1, closed-off work zones, and passengers walking longer distances to reach check-in and boarding areas. Some escalators inside the terminal were still under repair, and travelers said the signs were not clear enough to guide them through the new access points and gates.
The problem is not only cosmetic. The airport is one of Mexico’s main international gateways, and Mexico City will open the tournament on June 11, when Mexico plays South Africa at the Mexico City Stadium. FIFA lists the match as the first game of the 2026 tournament.
A promised pause is almost here
The airport’s own construction calendar shows how tight the timing has become. An AICM contract notice said terminal renovation work began April 1, 2025, would pause from May 31 to July 31, 2026, because of the World Cup, and would resume August 1 through November 17.
That schedule was meant to keep the tournament period from colliding with the heaviest construction disruptions. Yet the airport was still operating around cranes, barriers, and unfinished areas in the final days before the pause.
The administration had acknowledged delays days earlier. The airport’s general direction said the first-stage terminal works would be delivered “a más tardar a finales de este mes” and acknowledged “algunos inconvenientes” had prevented delivery on the earlier target date.
The pressure has been visible for months. In December, the airport said 24 of 33 Terminal 1 boarding positions had been remodeled, equal to about 70 percent of that part of the terminal. The same notice said other Terminal 1 positions would close for work and urged passengers to arrive earlier at both terminals.
Travelers are absorbing the disruption
The immediate cost is time. The Friday field report said that moving between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 could take up to 30 minutes due to vehicle traffic and active work zones. One traveler said, “La verdad no creo que terminen las obras al cien por ciento antes del Mundial.”
Earlier airport walkthroughs found the same pattern. Workers were moving materials through terminal areas, passengers were navigating uneven surfaces, and some transport links had been shifted, increasing the walking distance for transfers.
The issue now is whether the airport can shift from construction site to World Cup gateway without adding new friction. AICM has already been under scrutiny as it raced to finish World Cup work, and after regulators authorized more hourly operations before the tournament.
Federal aviation authorities recently authorized AICM to increase the number of landings and takeoffs per hour from 44 to 46, but the measure depends on infrastructure conditions, including rapid-exit taxiway work and verification by the aviation authority.
That means passenger flow inside the terminals and aircraft movement outside them are now tied to the same deadline. The airport is trying to finish work while also preparing for higher demand.
City transport plans add another deadline
Mexico City officials have also been developing a broader transportation plan around the tournament. In April, the city said it was modernizing airport terminals and the San Lázaro terminal to improve accessibility and system connectivity, including TAPO, with the works expected to conclude in early June.
Mobility secretary Héctor Ulises García described the goal as making the city work better and helping people arrive faster and more safely. The city also pointed to the Aeropuerto–Paseo de la Reforma electric Metrobús route, which connects AICM with the Historic Center and tourist corridors.
Those plans sit beside a very different airport experience this week. Inside AICM, travelers are still dealing with the final stretch of a renovation scheduled around the World Cup, which has not disappeared from daily operations.
The World Cup will not be the end of the project. Under the airport’s published schedule, work is expected to resume in August after the tournament pause and continue into November.
