AICM or AIFA: Which Mexico City Airport Changes Your Trip

Which airport your ticket actually uses

Mexico City has two commercial airports, and the code printed on your booking decides everything that follows. AICM, the Aeropuerto Internacional de la Ciudad de Mexico, is inside the city itself and has its own Metro station. AIFA, the Aeropuerto Internacional Felipe Angeles, is at Circuito Exterior Mexiquense km 33 in Zumpango de Ocampo, State of Mexico, which is a separate state from Mexico City. Low-fare tickets sold as "Mexico City" are frequently AIFA departures, and travellers who assume otherwise lose an hour or more on the day.

The practical consequence is that a cheap AIFA fare is not cheap once the transfer is priced in, while an AICM arrival can be finished in half an hour. Neither airport is the wrong choice; they simply need different plans.

AICM Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 are not one building

AICM's two terminals are separate buildings with separate ground transport, and you cannot walk between them. Terminal 1 handles most international and domestic carriers; Terminal 2 is Aeromexico's base. The airside connection is the Aerotren, a free automated shuttle that runs daily from 05:00 to 23:00 and requires a boarding pass.

The restriction matters more than the timetable. The airport's own FAQ states that Aerotren access is granted to passengers holding a boarding pass whose itinerary, e-ticket or reservation is a codeshare, transit or connecting booking, plus a limited number of companions travelling with older adults, minors, people with disabilities or people needing specialised care.

If your connection is genuinely a single itinerary, the Aerotren is the fastest link and costs nothing. Confirm it with your airline when you check in, because the boarding-pass condition is checked at the platform.

Metro Line 5 from Terminal 1: cheap, and only if you travel light

Metro Line 5 reaches AICM at Terminal Aerea station, which sits outside Terminal 1 on Boulevard Puerto Aereo at the corner of Avenida Capitan Carlos Leon Gonzalez. It is a normal Metro station with a normal flat fare of MXN 5 per journey regardless of distance or transfers, paid with the Movilidad Integrada card.

The luggage question is the reason most arriving visitors skip it. The Mexico City government's own airport page describes Line 5 as costing MXN 5 but not recommended for travellers with heavy luggage. Metro carriages have no luggage racks, the entrance involves turnstiles and stairs, and staff can refuse entry to bulky items. Line 5 also does not run through the historic centre, so most journeys need at least one change on a crowded platform with your bags.

Treat the Metro as a good option if you are carrying a rucksack and know your route, and a poor one with two suitcases at 19:00.

Metrobus Line 4: the practical airport connection

Metrobus Line 4 is the public transport option AICM itself presents as the link between the airport and the city centre, with dedicated boarding areas at Terminal 1 gate 7 and Terminal 2 gate 2. It runs 365 days a year, Monday to Saturday from 04:30 to midnight and on Sundays and public holidays from 05:00 to midnight, and it reaches the historic centre without a change.

Payment is the part that catches people out. There is no cash fare on board and no paper ticket. AICM's page states that payment is made with the smart card, bought and topped up from the vending machines in the boarding areas at both terminals. That card is the citywide Tarjeta de Movilidad Integrada, which the city sells for MXN 15 and which also works on the Metro, Cablebus, light rail, trolleybus and Ecobici. The airport service carries its own fare: the city's Metrobus page lists a standard fare of MXN 6 and states that "the only exception is the Airport service (Line 4), which has a fare of $30.00 MXN". The same page notes that contactless bank cards and digital wallets are also accepted.

Line 4 buses have space for luggage and are the reasonable middle option: far cheaper than a taxi, far easier than the Metro with bags, and slower than a car only when traffic is light.

Authorised taxis and app pickups at AICM

AICM taxis are sold as a prepaid ticket bought inside the terminal, not negotiated at the kerb. The airport lists the authorised taxi ticket booths in Terminal 1 at domestic Sala A, the exterior roadway beside Sala A and the domestic baggage reclaim, and for international arrivals at Salas E2 and E3 and gate 10; in Terminal 2 the booths are at Sala D for domestic arrivals and Sala E and gate 4 for international arrivals. The city government describes these services as government-regulated with fixed rates calculated by geographic zone, so you state your destination area, pay a set price and take the ticket to the vehicle.

App-based services work differently. Uber, DiDi and Cabify operate legally at AICM, but because the terminal frontage is federal zone they cannot collect passengers at the arrivals door and must pick up from the exterior roadways. Expect a walk with your bags and a driver who cannot wait long.

Both terminals also have 24-hour bus bays with ticket counters, in Terminal 1 in the international area between gates 7 and 8 and in Terminal 2 beside Sala D at gate 4. Those coaches serve other cities, not central Mexico City.

AIFA: the distance is the whole story

AIFA sits far enough outside Mexico City that the transfer is a journey in its own right, and the airport publishes three distinct ways of covering it. The rail link is operating: the Tren Felipe Angeles runs between the airport and Buenavista in central Mexico City over twelve stations, with an initial journey time of about 60 minutes that the operator says will fall towards 43 minutes. The introductory fare is MXN 45 between AIFA and any station in either direction, and entry uses the same Movilidad Integrada card as the city network, which can be topped up at Buenavista, in local shops or through the CDMX app. Trains run Monday to Friday 05:00 to midnight, Saturdays from 06:00 and Sundays and holidays from 07:00.

Mexibus Line 1 is the bus alternative, running from Ciudad Azteca to Ojo de Agua where you change onto the dedicated AIFA service on the same line. It uses a different card, the Mexipase, sold from machines at every Mexibus station for MXN 25 including one fare, with individual journeys at MXN 10; the transfer at Ojo de Agua is free if you use the same card. Service runs daily from 04:30, with the last departure towards AIFA at 23:00.

The third option is a coach or shared van. AIFA lists 19 pickup points across Mexico City and the metropolitan area, including the Angel de la Independencia, Bellas Artes, Indios Verdes, Central del Norte and AICM itself, with times and prices published per route.

The table below compares the three AIFA options on the things that decide a late or heavy arrival.

Comparing the two airports before you book

Choosing between an AICM and an AIFA fare is a comparison of total door-to-door cost and time, not headline ticket price. AICM gives you a Metrobus ride of well under an hour into the centre for MXN 30 plus the card, or a zone-priced taxi from a booth. AIFA gives you a MXN 45 train to Buenavista plus whatever it takes to reach your accommodation from there, on a service that stops around midnight.

Before you leave the arrivals hall

Three checks belong in the arrivals hall rather than on the pavement outside it. Confirm which terminal or airport you are actually in from the signage rather than your booking, because codeshare tickets often name the marketing carrier's usual terminal. Buy your transport card or your taxi ticket inside the building, at a machine or a marked booth. And check the operator's current page for the fare and last service on your travel date, because every figure quoted here was read on official pages on 7 September 2026 and fares and timetables are revised without notice.

Two topics sit outside this guide. Toluca airport and domestic connections between Mexican cities are not covered here, and neither is a landing after the Metro and Metrobus have already stopped, which is a separate situation with its own answers.