The new Mexico City airport: Toluca Airport will still have a role to play after the new one opens

One of the world's largest airports is under construction close to Mexico City and will open in four years or less. It will replace the existing Mexico City Juarez International Airport, which has become a byword for congestion.

A decision in favour of the new airport took decades to come to fruition. Latterly the yes/no debate also brought into play the potential expansion of any of a number of smaller airports in and around the Mexico City metropolitan area. The most favoured was Toluca Airport (TLC), to the west of the city in a separate township that is a principal industrial sector for the whole of Mexico.

Eventually, the expansion of Toluca Airport - which has the country's longest runway - was overlooked in favour of building a new greenfield airport, thus raising the question of what Toluca's future would amount to.

This report looks at present and future growth trends at the airport, local airport statistics, how Toluca matches up to competing airports across a range of metrics, at any construction activities and at its ownership. It concludes that Toluca Airport does have a future role as long as certain advantages remain in play.