Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport was forced into an hours-long shutdown on Sunday as torrential rains swamped the capital, bringing visibility to dangerously low levels.
Airport officials announced the suspension of all landings and takeoffs shortly before 9:00 p.m. local time (0300 GMT), citing reports from the aeronautical authority that conditions were unsafe for flight operations. The halt was initially set for three hours, as crews and controllers waited for the downpour to ease and skies to clear.
“This will allow for the removal of rainwater that has caused flooding, enabling the restoration of operational capacity,” it said.
Benito Juarez International Airport, one of the city’s two international airports, is among Latin America’s busiest, serving 45.4 million passengers in 2024.
Sunday’s rainfall flooded major roads in Mexico City, with water reaching up to 50 centimetres (19 inches) in some areas.
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City authorities issued a rare purple alert — the highest weather warning — for Mexico City’s central districts on Sunday night, as the metropolis of more than nine million braced under sheets of torrential rain.
The capital’s stormy evening marked yet another chapter in a season Mexico knows all too well. Between May and November each year, fierce tropical systems regularly batter the country, leaving flooding and destruction in their wake.
Just last June, Hurricane Erick tore through southern Mexico, wrecking coastal towns and claiming two lives. In October 2023, Acapulco suffered one of its darkest days when Hurricane Otis, a Category 5 powerhouse, roared ashore, killing dozens and flattening parts of the famed resort city. A month earlier, Hurricane John — a Category 3 storm — left about 15 dead as it carved a deadly path through communities.