Starting in December, travelers to Querétaro, Mexico, a hive of automotive industry activity, can fly there nonstop from San Antonio International Airport.
Mexican low-cost carrier Viva Aerobus will begin offering year-round, nonstop flights on Mondays and Fridays. Tickets went on sale Thursday.
This will be the sixth nonstop flight to Mexico out of the San Antonio airport. Other Mexican destinations include Cancun, Guadalajara, Leon, Mexico City and Monterrey.
The Querétaro route, which starts Dec. 1, is the airport’s 43rd direct-flight option.
Querétaro Intercontinental Airport straddles the Central Mexico cities of El Marqués and Colón, near the state of Querétaro’s capital, Santiago de Querétaro. The airport is about 155 miles northwest of Mexico City.
“That region is very attractive,” Airport Director Jesus Saenz said, noting it is popular among both tourists and business travelers.
Viva already flies to Leon, Mexico City and Monterrey out of San Antonio. Also on Dec. 1, the airline will expand its service to Mexico City from six days per week to seven, and to Leon from two days per week to three.
Viva also will increase the number of passengers it can carry on each flight, Saenz said. The carrier will use A321neos, which seat 240 people, on its Mexico City, Leon and Querétaro routes — instead of jets with seating capacity of up to 190 that it has relied on in the past.
Querétaro is a popular tourist destination and is known as a aerospace and automotive manufacturing powerhouse.
Automakers and parts suppliers dominate Querétaro industry, accounting for $4.14 billion (U.S. dollars) in international sales in 2022, or 30 percent of the state’s export trade, according to the Mexican federal government. U.S. buyers are Querétaro’s biggest customers, accounting for 81 percent of the state’s international sales.
Querétaro’s population surged by nearly 30 percent between 2010 and 2020, to 2.4 million.
Avanzar Interior Technologies, a San Antonio-based Toyota supplier with two plants in Mexico, will benefit from the new route, said president Christian Guerra. Avanzar employees have had to catch connecting flights in Houston or Mexico City to get to Querétaro. Guerra said the new service out of San Antonio could cut travel time by more than half.
“It is truly a phenomenal step forward for businesses, for all of the supply base, for many other manufacturing companies and supply chain that is bringing products up to Texas or products down to Mexico,” Guerra said.
Saenz hinted during a Thursday news conference on the new service that more Viva announcements could be coming soon.
City officials, Greater: SATX, the regional economic development group, and Visit San Antonio are pushing for nonstop service to 18 cities in the United States, Canada, Mexico, including Querétaro, as well as Europe. London and Frankfurt, Germany, have been the prize overseas destinations for San Antonio officials and business groups.
Last month, the city announced seasonal, nonstop service to Frankfurt, which German leisure airline Condor will kick off in May, with service ending for the year on Sept. 6.
Condor opted not to launch year-round service because it’s largely focused on German leisure travelers. In the winter, Condor flies to the Caribbean, Seychelles in East Africa and other destinations that are popular among Germans.
Nevertheless, San Antonio leaders are hoping the new flight will also open doors for business travelers.
Saenz said the airport — which is at the beginning of a 20-year, $2.5 billion expansion — can handle the new routes. The airport recently opened several new gates to meet demand, and Saenz said a new ground loading facility for passengers that will come online in 2025.
San Antonio isn’t the only city that has opened new nonstop routes to Mexico in recent days. Viva Aerobus said last week it will offer direct flights from Austin-Bergstrom International Airport to Monterrey, Mexico, beginning in March.
The Federal Aviation Administration, meanwhile, has bumped up Mexico’s aviation safety rating.
The FAA returned Mexico’s aviation safety rating to the highest level after downgrading it two years ago
Source : Express News