MEXICO CITY (AP) — 2026 FIFA World Cup Thousands of passengers arrive in less than a month in mexico city Benito Juárez International Airport greets you with the sound of drills, a chaotic construction site littered with pipes and unfinished flooring.
The project included hundreds of posters advertising the soccer tournament, as well as large figurines of soccer balls and trophies, allowing passengers to forget about the inconvenience caused by the year-long renovation.
Luis Ibarra, a 28-year-old engineer sitting next to one of the six remaining cranes at the entrance to Terminal 1, says he is not concerned about the renovations. After all, he noted, the airport has suffered from flooding, leaking roofs and severe overcrowding for years.
More than 3,000 people are working 20 hours a day as Mexico’s largest airport counts down to the completion of its most extensive renovation project, airport authorities told The Associated Press.
It wasn’t an easy job.
A year after renovations began, the first phase is more than 90 percent complete, but the complications were “beyond expectations,” Adm. Juan José Padilla, general director of Benito Juárez International Airport, told The Associated Press. He explained that the unforeseen challenges stem from half-century-old infrastructure and a lack of original blueprints in some areas.
“We are facing years of neglect,” Padilla said, acknowledging that years of underinvestment have affected the terminal, which handles about 120,000 passengers each day.
Against this background, work on a $500 million modernization project began in May 2025. This massive undertaking is fully funded by the airport itself. Managed by the Mexican Navy since 2023.
Project coordinator Captain Arturo Flores said the extensive renovation will include a new terminal façade, renovated restrooms, a refurbished baggage carousel and the replacement of almost 100,000 square meters (1.1 million square feet) of flooring and lighting. The interior redesign also created 30,000 square meters (320,00 square feet) of waiting space for travelers. The second phase will begin in August after the World Cup and will continue until December.
The renovations also include adding more security cameras, increasing from 2,200 to more than 4,000. artificial intelligence Detect suspicious vehicles, packages, and people.
Padilla said an anti-drone system will also be installed soon to deal with unforeseen situations.
Earlier this month, Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced an agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation to implement the 2015 Bilateral Transportation Agreement through a series of new measures.
These measures include expanding the number of slots (specific slots allocated for aircraft takeoff and landing) that Washington had requested from U.S. airlines. During the previous administration, the number of slots at the capital airport was cut from 61 to 43 per hour, but last year it returned to 44.
In this regard, Mr. Padilla informed that the number of slots available to both foreign and domestic airlines will soon increase to 46.
Latest airport renovation is a major effort by Mexico President Claudia SheinbaumAfter a turbulent period under his predecessor, Andres Manuel López ObradorThey tried to reroute flights in the capital to a new military-run airport elsewhere. ultimately failed to gain traction.
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