Mexico City airport to be remodeled for 2026 World Cup

The navy will launch works in the first half of the year to remodel the Mexico City International Airport (AICM) ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be co-hosted by Mexico.

Navy commander Juan José Padilla said that 75 works and 24 procurement contracts will be carried out to improve infrastructure such as terminals 1 and 2, runways, boarding gates and internal and external roads, as well as perform maintenance on the control tower.

The ministry of the navy, known as Semar, plans to invest 8 billion pesos (US$387 million) from its own funds, money that will not come from the federal budget, Padilla said during President Claudia Sheinbaum's daily press conference.

Padilla said that on January 8, Grupo Aeroportuario, Semar, and world football governing body FIFA formalized an agreement that also includes improvements to the Toluca and Cuernavaca airports, which will see increased passenger traffic as well during the June-July 2026 tournament in North America.

Works are planned in stages that will begin "between April and June of this year, aiming to finish between April and May 2026,” said Padilla, who added that airport operations will not be affected.

In late October, the Grupo Aeroportuario managed by Semar published a call for proposals to beautify its facilities and renovate its terminals. The winning proposal was the model for the architecture contract awarded on January 7.

According to the presentation and schedule shown by Padilla (see below), the contract for the terminal redesign will be awarded on February 13, with companies invited to bid on January 20.