Mexico's legacy airline Aeromexico files for bankruptcy

Mexico’s oldest legacy airline, Aeromexico, said Tuesday it has filed for Chapter 11 reorganization, a form of bankruptcy in which the carrier can keep operating while its debts and obligations are sorted out. The airline said “this legal process will not interrupt the airline’s operations” and that all tickets, reservations and bonus points would continue to be honored.

Like many airlines throughout the world, Aeromexico has been squeezed by a decline in travel due to the coronavirus pandemic. Aeromexico General Director Andrés Conesa said “the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the global economy and travel industry.”

In a statement, Aeromexico wrote that “many leading airlines throughout the world have used Chapter 11 to strengthen their financial position, and they continue to be solid companies that serve passengers across the world now. That is what we intend to do.” Mexico's government has refused to bail out large private companies, even those battered by the pandemic. Mexico's other legacy airline, Mexicana, went into a Mexican bankruptcy proceeding in 2010 and never re-emerged.