Mexico: Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Confirms Defense Ministry's Plans to Operate Commercial Airline

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has confirmed that the country's Defense Ministry is eying the creation of a state-owned commercial airline, which would be operated by the army.

Mexico News Daily reported that AMLO told reporters that the plan is "very probable," adding that the proposed commercial airline will start its operations next year. The Mexican president said that the economic viability analysis of the plan is being conducted.

Aside from a commercial airline, the Mexican Defense Ministry is also reported to be considering the creation of a state-owned tourism company that would be operating three hotels along the Maya Train railroad route, two museums and two ecological parks.

The cost of operating the airline would be about $50 million to $90 million depending on the type of aircraft that is leased, according to leaked information.

The Defense Ministry was also reported to consider using the presidential plane for some commercial flights to be operated by the eyed airline.

Lopez Obrador said that the army-run commercial airline could be profitable, highlighting the need for more airlines in Mexico.

Defense Ministry Proposing Creation of Airline

The Defense Ministry eventually ruled out the commercial use of the presidential plane and proposed a military use that would consist of humanitarian aid flights, national and foreign study trips, and transportation of sports delegations.

The study analysis of the proposal noted that the plane is "part of the fleet of the Mexican Air Force where it is given a military job, to be assigned to activities" of the Defense Ministry and federal government, according to a Puerto Vallarta Daily News report.

However, the plan faces a legal problem as having the concession of an airport and an airline at the same time is not feasible.

It was reported that officials intend to solve the problem by going through a reform of the regulations of the airport law.

Mexico Defense Ministry Leaked Documents

The information about the proposed commercial airline was reported after more than four million emails from Defense Ministry have been penetrated by hacktivists, who called themselves Guacamaya.

The leaked details included AMLO's heart condition that led to his hospitalization in January, as reported by U.S. News. The president then confirmed revelations about his own health problems, while also saying that the cyber hack of the Defense Ministry was true.

In 2013, Lopez Obrador suffered a heart attack. The trip to a hospital in January was a preventive measure.

Meanwhile, the hack accessed six terabytes of data from the Defense Ministry, which included information about criminal figures, transcripts of communications, and the monitoring of the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Ken Salazar.

The hack was conducted after a military helicopter crashed in July, which killed 14 people. It was found out that the cause of the crash was the aircraft running out of fuel.

A political scientist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Javier Olivar, said that the leaks posed a "very serious show of vulnerability."

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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