Analysing capacity challenges in the Multi-Airport System of Mexico City

Abstract

The relentless growth in Mexico City’s aviation traffic has inevitably strained capacity development of its airport, raising the dilemma between the possible solutions. In the present study, Mexico’s Multi-Airport System is subjected to analysis by means of multi-model simulation, focusing on the capacity-demand problem of the system. The methodology combines phases of modelling, data collection, simulation, experimental design, and analysis. Drawing a distinction from previous works involving two-airport systems. It also explores the challenges raised by the Covid-19 pandemic in Mexico City airport operations, with a discrete-event simulation model of a multi-airport system composed by three airports (MEX, TLC, and the new airport NLU). The study is including the latest data of flights, infrastructures, and layout collected in 2021. Therefore, the paper aims to answer to the question of whether the system will be able to cope with the expected demand in a short-, medium-, and long term by simulating three future scenarios based on aviation forecasts. The study reveals potential limitations of the system as time evolves and the feasibility of a joint operation to absorb the demand in such a big region like Mexico City