By Kylie Madry

SANTA LUCIA (Mexico) – No suitcases were seen at Mexico City’s newest airport after a spectacular ceremony last month. On Friday, only one flight was visible on the board. It came from Merida in Mexico and was delayed.

Felipe Angeles International Airport, 45 km (28 miles) from the existing Mexico City hub was still being built three weeks later.

These teething issues could make President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador look bad. He made the airport one of the key projects in his presidency. It will also give ammunition to opposition groups that have long called the new airport a vanity project.

The airport’s entrance was surrounded by chain-link fencing and green tarps. As construction workers continued digging, dust stained the skies.

It is quite different to the pitch Lopez Obrador used, which called it “one among the finest airports in the country” before the inauguration.

When he cancelled his predecessor’s $13billion airport partially constructed before taking office, the leftist stirred investors.

He instead ordered that the Army build a commercial airfield on the ground of Santa Lucia’s military base.

Lopez Obrador, a 17-year-old Mexican hero Benito Juarez’s birthday, inaugurated the new airport before the recall vote. However, despite low voter turnout, he won with ease.

Lopez Obrador stated that the airport was 100% complete at its grand opening.

The airport is still in the midst of construction and has congested roads linking it with the city. It will be without a train connection for the next year. The airport is currently unable to accept ride-hailing service pick-ups.

Although a new highway connecting to the airport remains under construction, one worker claimed that it had cut her commute by half.

Mexico’s Transportation Ministry spokespeople did not respond immediately to inquiries for comment.

TOURISTS DO ARRIVE BUT NOT TO TRAVEL

A handful of military flights were among the 14 confirmed arrivals and departures that day at AIFA, as compared to close to 900 daily flights to Mexico City International Airport.

Flight records indicate that the AIFA averaged about a dozen flights per day since its opening. According to Mexican media reports, the army estimates that 2.5 million people will use the airport this year. This number could be doubled in 2023.

Officials told Reuters that the AIFA is yet to appoint a spokesperson. The Army did not immediately comment on this story.

The new airport’s check-in counters were empty despite the fact that Mexican airlines Volaris and Aeromexico, and Venezuela’s Conviasa, had announced flights to this destination.

According to an airport worker who is familiar with airlines, flights using AIFA are about half the cost of regular airfares to Mexico City. This was due to lower fees and incentives from government.

Volaris stated to Reuters that flight costs will be lower even though it is not receiving subsidy. None of the other airlines responded.

According to public construction plans, the airport must eventually have at least two commercial runways. However, only one runway is currently operational.

“Being able to land two planes at once or have two take off at the same time (…) not even the Mexico City International Airport has that,” said Victor Manuel Pena Chavez, an aeronautical engineering professor at the National Polytechnical Institute.

Security staff were employed at Krispy Kreme (NASDAQ:) and Starbucks (NASDAQ;), while some storefronts, such as a Mexican gift shop and pastry shop, had opened. Many spots were still closed and plastered with signs indicating “coming soon”.

Late in the afternoon, many tourists were seen milling about on the 3,800-acre property, although they did not travel.

The families were either curious neighbours or employees, and stayed around until the sun set to view the Aeromexico delay.

The plane was not seen on the runway for almost four hours by Reuters journalists, as flight records confirm.

According to one employee, “Once we reach mid-year,” he said.