Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International Airport halted operations for several hours on Sunday after torrential rains flooded parts of the capital and reduced visibility, authorities said.
“Due to the heavy rainfall this afternoon and based on reports of low visibility… the aeronautical authority has ordered the suspension of landing and takeoff operations for the next 3 hours,” the airport announced on its official X account shortly before 9:00 p.m. local time (0300 GMT).
Officials said the measure was necessary to allow crews to drain floodwaters and restore operational capacity.
The airport, one of two serving the city and among Latin America’s busiest, handled 45.4 million passengers in 2024.
The downpour also inundated major roads, with water levels reaching up to 50 centimetres (19 inches) in some areas. City authorities activated a purple alert — the highest level — for the central districts of the metropolis of over nine million people.
Mexico regularly experiences intense storms between May and November. In June, Hurricane Erick battered southern Mexico, killing two people, while Hurricane Otis struck Acapulco in October 2023 as a Category 5 storm, leaving dozens dead. Last September, Hurricane John, a Category 3, claimed about 15 lives.
