The director of the Service for Navigation in the Mexican Air Space (Seneam), Víctor Manuel Hernández Sandoval, has submitted his resignation this weekend amid a wave of accusations from pilots and members of the industry for alleged "risk incidents" in the airspace of the Valley of Mexico.
The Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation (SICT) has not yet ruled on the resignation of the official, however, the document of his resignation has been leaked on social networks.
In the letter, Hernández resigns as "irrevocable" and with effect from this Monday, May 9.
The official was responsible for Mexican airspace since 2018. “I wish to state that all the benefits to which I am entitled have been covered, as well as the salaries, which I have earned up to this date.
Finally, I wish to express my gratitude for the time in which you allowed me to be part of your work team, wishing you the greatest success in the assignment you have been assigned", indicates the letter of resignation addressed to the Secretary of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport, Jorge Arganís Díaz Leal.
The director's resignation has been announced just hours after a recording of a serious incident at the Mexico City International Airport also circulated on social networks.
The images show a forced maneuver of an aircraft that, about to land, takes flight to avoid colliding with another plane on the runway of the aerodrome.
The video picks up the voice of an air traffic controller giving instructions to the aircraft in the air.
This Sunday night, the executive director of Volaris, Enrique Beltranena, confirmed that the incident occurred this Saturday and involved one of his aircraft.
"Thanks to the training of our pilots and their impeccable monitoring of the processes, no passenger or crew member was at risk during the situation reported in the AICM on the night of May 7,"
Since the construction of the airport at the Santa Lucía military base was announced, the redesign of the airspace was a topic of wide discussion.
A debate that has intensified again as this coexistence has taken flight.
Last week, the International Federation of Airline Pilots Associations (IFALPA, for its acronym in English) warned that since last March, which operates the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), for which the airspace was redesigned, there have been recorded constant alerts due to aircraft approaching the terrain, deviations due to excessive delays and aircraft landing with little fuel.
Despite the videos of passengers and warnings from the aeronautical union, the Mexican government has denied that the coexistence between airports is generating incidents between aircraft.
Following the protocols, I immediately requested an investigation from our Operational Safety area, as well as from the aeronautical authorities.
At #Volaris we always operate with strict adherence to procedures and with safety as a priority.
(3/3)
– Enrique Beltranena (@kikebeltranena) May 8, 2022
Before Hernández's resignation was announced, the Air Traffic Controllers Union rejected in writing that they were responsible for the deterioration in the service and the increase in air safety events and even blamed the still director of Seneam: "We have warned the head of the Secretariat of Infrastructure, Communications and Transportation and the head of the Federal Civil Aviation Agency the probable consequences of the ineptitude and negligence of Víctor Manuel Hernández”, they refer in a statement.
Since 2014, the Benito Juárez airport exceeded its security limit capacity with 32 million passengers.
During the pandemic it suffered a significant reduction in operations, however, after normalizing air traffic, the aerodrome has become saturated again.
The SCT has confirmed this week that in the coming days it will publish a decree to limit operations at Mexico City's main airport.
Operations will be reduced from 62 to around 50 every hour.
One of the objectives of this measure is to increase flights at the new Felipe Ángeles airport.
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