DALLAS — The new Mexicana de Aviación's inaugural flight departed on December 26, 2023, from Felipe Angeles International Airport (NLU) and touched down at Tulum International Airport (TQ0).

However, due to a fog bank, the aircraft was unable to land at TQ0 and instead made its landing in Yucatan. According to tvazteca.com, the plane, a Boeing 737-8MC with registration XA-ASM, was stationed at Mérida International Airport's (MID) Terminal 4 before it finally took off bound for TQ0, arriving approximately one hour after takeoff.

Mexicana de Aviación, managed by the Ministry of National Defense, is making a comeback after a hiatus of 13 years. It will operate a minimum of 14 routes, encompassing destinations such as Baja California, Campeche, Chiapas, Guerrero, Jalisco, Nuevo Leon, Quintana Roo, Sinaloa, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, and Yucatan. Additionally, four more routes will be added to this roster, namely Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Uruapan, Michoacan, Huatulco, and Ciudad Ixtepec, Oaxaca.

Mexicana has only two aircraft active on airlfleets.net, a Boeing 737NG and the aforementioned Boeing 737-800. The airline expects to operate three Boeing aircraft with a capacity of about 130 passengers and two Embraer aircraft with a capacity of 70 to 80 passengers.

Further, Mexico's army-run airline anticipates two additional leased Boeing aircraft in the coming year, facilitating the expansion to popular resorts such as Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Zihuatanejo, Acapulco, and Mazatlan. These flights are expected to be scheduled every three or four days, with a focus on weekends.

Featured image: Mexicana de Aviación Boeing 737-8MC, XA-ASM. Photo: Mexicana de Aviacion