Mexico landing permits

01Who issues Mexican landing permits

Entry authorisations for foreign aircraft are issued by the Agencia Federal de Aviación Civil (AFAC). AFAC's comandancia at the first airport of entry reviews the documents on arrival, and the authorisation is not valid without the number issued by AFAC headquarters in Mexico City.

Most business aviation traffic enters at Toluca (MMTO), Mexico City (MMMX), San José del Cabo (MMSD), Cancún (MMUN) or Monterrey (MMMY).

02Private flights: the single entry authorisation (AIU)

The annual and multiple-entry permits for private aircraft ended on 31 December 2023. Since 1 January 2024, private non-revenue flights use a Single Entry Authorisation (Autorización de Internación Única, AIU), issued at the first airport of entry and valid for 180 days. Within that period the aircraft can make further entries and domestic flights, although practice varies between airports and a change of crew or passengers can trigger a new AIU.

AFAC is checking more closely whether flights are really private, especially when the aircraft also appears on a Part 135 or other commercial certificate. Carry documents that show the nature of the flight.

03Charter flights: the Blanket Permit

Single-entry charter landing permits are no longer issued. Every foreign charter operator needs an indefinite Blanket Permit from AFAC, which includes AFAC's validation of the AOC, and only the aircraft listed on that permit may fly charter into Mexico. A new Blanket Permit, or a change such as adding a tail number, can take up to 90 business days.

Each charter trip is then reviewed by AFAC, with a lead time of at least 10 business days, up from 5. Foreign operators may not carry revenue passengers between two points in Mexico.

04Documents for a Mexico landing permit

Have these ready:

• Certificates of registration and airworthiness
• Insurance: a worldwide policy and, for charter, a Mexican liability policy from a Mexican insurer. The make, model, serial number, registration and owner's name must match the registration certificate exactly
• Layout of passenger accommodations (LOPA) from the weight and balance manual
• Crew licences and medicals, and crew and passenger details
• AOC and Blanket Permit, for charter flights

05How we handle Mexican permits

Send us the aircraft, routing and schedule. Our OCC checks the current Mexican requirements for your flight type, prepares the request, files it and follows it up until the permit number is issued. We then pass it to the crew and the flight plan, and revise it if the schedule moves.

We arrange the permits for the rest of the routing in the same trip file, with overflight permits for the countries you cross and landing permits at your destination.