SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Aeroméxico and Volaris, Mexico’s biggest airlines, are reporting a downturn in business and are blaming President Trump’s immigration and economic policies for their losses.
Volaris executives say they have lowered passenger projections for the year and expect 13% to 15% fewer passengers in 2025.
“This is the beginning of an economic problem, a reduction that has yet to be classified as a recession,” said Volaris CEO Enrique Beltranena. “This economic reduction is hitting both the United States and Mexico and it’s having an impact on the tourism market.”
According to Beltranena, his airline lost $51 million during the first quarter this year, almost 12% of its expected annual revenue.
“Trump’s policies are influencing the economy, it is definitely affecting us.”
Belteranena says they have reduced routes as a way to increase passenger counts on their most popular flights to decrease costs.
“This first quarter was the first time in four years we saw a reduction in our business, especially Mexicans who visit the United States.”
Aeroméxico is also seeing fewer passengers on its Mexico-U.S. flights reporting a nearly 2% drop in business from the same time period last year.
“There’s a lot of uncertainty in things we can’t control, we’ve seen a light drop in business,” said Giancarlo Mulinelli, Aeroméxico’s Vice President for Global Sales.
Mulinelli said in spite of the economic uncertainty, the airline is continuing with its expansion plans adding more flights to Phoenix, Philadelphia, Fresno and Chicago while creating hubs in Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York with American partner Delta Air Lines.
“We continue to implement our strategy, continuing to be Mexico’s No. 1 airline in flights between Mexico and the U.S.”
According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, from January through March, 668,840 Mexican tourists traveled north of the border on ships or planes, a 7.2% drop from the previous year.
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