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By KELIN DILLON

According to the National Consumer Price Index (INPC) of Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), airfares increased by 43.9 percent during the country’s second economic quarter of 2021 compared to the year previous.

The surge in price can be explained due to several factors — first and foremost, because flights during the second quarter of 2020 were at a historic low due to covid-19 lockdown restrictions and stay-at-home orders worldwide.

Secondly, airlines have been raising airfares across the board internationally to help level out losses from the covid-19 pandemic, said aviation expert Fernando Gómez.

Thirdly, the recent reopening of borders and increased vaccination around the world has now increased the demand for flights, leading to the price hike.

The fourth reason, which is completely specific to Mexico, has to do with the U.S. Federal Aviation Association (FAA) downgrading Mexico’s airspace security ranking from a category one to a category two, limiting the amount of new routes created out of the country and thus driving up the airfare of the flights that already exist.

According to Pablo Casas, director of the National Aeronautical Legal Research Institute (Inija), a price leveling will continue throughout the year and thus airfare will continue to rise in cost.