While US businesses are facing the biggest crisis in decades due to the America First Ambition of President Trump, the US Department of Transportation Secretary Duffy shines with his threats to put more stumbling blocks in the way of air travel between the U.S. and Mexico, and eventually Europe.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy, a former Real TV star, announced a slate of America First actions to combat what he says are Mexico’s blatant disregard of the 2015 U.S.-Mexico Air Transport Agreement and its ongoing anti-competitive behavior.
This comes at a time when international inbound tourism to the United States is clearly under threat, and Mexican visitors are among the most reliable in terms of numbers.
How is Mexico Harming U.S. Aviation?
The secretary alleged Mexico has not been in compliance with the bilateral agreement since 2022 when it abruptly rescinded slots and then forced U.S. all-cargo carriers to relocate operations. Mexico claimed it was to allow for construction to alleviate congestion at Benito Juarez International Airport (MEX), which has yet to materialize three years later.
By restricting slots and mandating that all-cargo operations move out of MEX, Mexico has broken its promise, disrupted the market, and left American businesses holding the bag for millions in increased costs.
Joe Biden is to blame
“Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg deliberately allowed Mexico to break our bilateral aviation agreement,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “That ends today. Let these actions serve as a warning to any country that thinks it can take advantage of the U.S., our carriers, and our market. America First means fighting for the fundamental principle of fairness.”
Taking Note of other Sinners, such as European Airlines
President Trump and Secretary Duffy are taking note of multiple other countries that are disregarding the terms of our air transport agreements. For example, we are monitoring European States to ensure that they apply the Balanced Approach process for noise abatement at their airports and do not implement unjustified operational restrictions.
The Department is committed to enforcing our agreements to ensure that aviation markets are fair and pro-competitive.
The three America First actions include:
- Part 213 Order requiring Mexican airlines to file schedules with the Department for all their U.S. operations.
- Part 212 Order requiring prior DOT approval before operating any large passenger or cargo aircraft charter flights to or from the United States.
- Supplemental Show Cause Order proposing the withdrawal of the Delta/Aeromexico joint venture’s antitrust immunity (ATI), thereby taking corrective action to address competitive issues in the market.
American, Delta, United
In 2022, Mexico seized historic slots from three U.S. carriers (American, Delta, United) and three Mexican carriers (Aeromexico, Viva Aerobus, Volaris) operating scheduled passenger services at MEX. This was done under the pretense of capacity constraints and operational limitations at MEX.
Despite repeated outreach from the Department, Mexico has not provided any information regarding when these slots would be returned or if any major construction projects at MEX will ever materialize.
On Air Cargo
In 2023, Mexico unilaterally forced all U.S. all-cargo carriers out of MEX under the same saturation pretenses with only 108 business days’ advance notice. Mexico has not taken any action to restore the operating rights of U.S. all-cargo carriers guaranteed in the U.S.-Mexico Air Transport Agreement.
On Antitrust
Antitrust immunity is a form of extraordinary authority that enables standard pricing and revenue sharing.
As noted in the Show Cause Order:
“Since 2022, Mexico has altered the playing field significantly for airlines in ways that reduce competition and allow predominant competitors to gain an unfair advantage in the U.S.-Mexico market.”
The United States and Mexico have an air services agreement…that commits both parties to a liberalized operating environment for all airlines…Mexico has walked away from its commitments…Mexico arbitrarily reduced capacity at the country’s primary gateway airport in Mexico City, Benito Juarez International Airport (MEX), confiscated slots from U.S. carriers at MEX, and ordered all-cargo carriers to vacate MEX.
Transparency
In addition, Mexico lacks a transparent and non-discriminatory slot allocation regime that adheres to international standards and applies consistently across the country’s airports, including MEX.
The lack of a coherent slot allocation regime and the prospect of arbitrary action at any time raise serious concerns about the long-term competitiveness of the U.S.-Mexico market and the Department’s ability to rely on the air services agreement as a mechanism to ensure adequate competition.
Mexico’s actions harm airlines seeking to enter the market, existing competitor airlines, consumers of air travel and products relying on time-sensitive air cargo shipments traded between the two countries, and other stakeholders in the American economy.”
The Department reserves the right to disapprove flight requests from Mexico should the country fail to take corrective action.
Should the Department finalize the ATI determinations, Delta/Aeromexico would be required to discontinue cooperation, including common pricing, capacity management, and revenue sharing, which require antitrust immunity.
Delta – Aeromexico
However, Delta and Aeromexico would be able to continue their partnership through arms-length activities such as codesharing, marketing, and frequent flyer cooperation. Delta will also be able to retain its equity stake in Aeromexico and maintain all of its existing flying in the U.S.-Mexico market unimpeded.
Real TV Star Sean Duffy
Sean Duffy served as a Congressman from Wisconsin’s 7th District in the US Congress for ten years, where he served on the House Financial Services Committee and actively led on local transportation issues through his co-chairmanship of the Great Lakes Task Force.
Prior to serving in Congress, Duffy was the District Attorney of Ashland County, Wisconsin, for ten years. There, he brought over a hundred cases to trial with an over 90% trial success rate. After leaving Congress, Duffy hosted the Fox Business show, “The Bottom Line with Dagen and Duffy.”
Sean was born and raised in Hayward, Wisconsin. As the tenth of eleven siblings in a large Irish Catholic family, Sean learned the enduring value of cooperation and compromise. Duffy also comes from a long line of lumberjacks, who helped build his beloved state of Wisconsin, and was a world-champion lumberjack athlete. He holds a marketing degree from St. Mary’s University and a J.D. degree from William Mitchell College of Law.
When Sean was in his twenties, he got his start in television on the MTV reality TV show, “The Real World”. He also starred on “Road Rules All Stars,” where he met his wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy.
Rachel and Sean are America’s first and longest-married reality TV couple. They have been married for 25 years and have nine children together.
