Been to Mexico?

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jeanathon

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Sierra Curious
Anyone flown into Mexico recently? How problematic was it? I was reading that basically all but 77 airports have been made private use. And about one airport charging a 5,000 dollar landing fee.
 
Haven't been, and my personal feeling is Mexico is sketchy enough as a tourist, let alone to fly there in a GA plane. If others have first hand experience, I would like to be proven wrong.
 
I've wanted to make the flight to Baja for quite a long time. Baja Bush Pilots often leads group flights into the country and that is the way I'd choose to go if I head that way. Being in a group with a leader that has been there and done that would make the whole experience soooooo much less stressful. Baja Bush Pilot's home page is: https://www.bajabushpilots.com/

Here's a trip report of flying to a resort in Mulege on Baja that is on the water with its own runway. You can actually taxi to your cabin. This has GREAT appeal to me! Mulege Trip report
 
I fly in Mexico. It's not the US, some bureaucracy but nothing scary. Plenty of apps and sites for you to not need a handler or something super expensive. The only place where there is no way out is MMGL. All ather major cities are GA friendly
 
Good info. My goal is to fly down to Costa Rica, but making the journey the destination. What route would you fly through Mexico for that?
 
jeanathon said:
Good info. My goal is to fly down to Costa Rica, but making the journey the destination. What route would you fly through Mexico for that?
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Can’t speak for today, but several years ago I did several trips to Liberia.
I’m not sure what route you will take, but we crossed a couple of countries that required overflight permits. IIRC they were Honduras and Nicaragua.

It was our company policy to never take an offered shortcut, as that *might* put you over a country for which you had no permit.
 
I'm following this with interest because I'm planning a similar southbound route from South Florida in October 2027, as part of a month-long Caribbean trip in a Cessna 172M.

Our tentative first international stop is Cancún, followed by Honduras and Nicaragua on the way to Costa Rica. For those with recent experience, would you favor Cancún or Cozumel for customs, reliable 100LL and reasonable fees?

rene86mx, which apps or services have you found most useful for handling the paperwork independently? I'd appreciate any recommendations.

Christopher
 
Came back yesterday. We typically make 3-5 trips there per year. I always use a handler. And then it is as easy as the US, let them do all the work for you. If you want to do it yourself, can save some money but trade some time and headache.

You need:
First landing airport in US and Mexico has to be an airport of entry or customs airport.
Radiohandlers license for plane and pilot (never had anybody ask for it but legally required).
Customs decal to come back in the US. Can get it same day online from CBP, lasts a year
AIU (landing permit) from Mexico. Can get it where you land and is good anywhere in Mexico for 6 months.
Valid FAA registration, airworthiness cert for the plane, medical and pilots license for the pilott. Always checked.
Mexican insurance. Usually about $180/year. Theoretically if your policy covers MX it is legally good enough, but each airport has its own version of legal.
ICAO flight plan to depart VFR or IFR, no night VFR
Passport
Picture of your airplane to give to the commandant
LOPA (diagram of the seating of your plane) Can usually get a copy from the POH
US eAPIS 60+ minutes before departure
Call US 60 min to 24 hours before return to US. Unless given email confirming permission to land. (only some airports do this). If in doubt call for permission to land.
Mexican eAPIS and refile it 60 minutes before departure.
Mexican passenger manifest in Excel format. All pax and relevant information.
Copy of maintenance log book or at least a copy of the last annual. (never been asked but required)
Log of recent flights of the aircraft. (never been asked but required in a lot of countries). Possibly could just copy the last 6 months off FlightAware or similar.

Strong recommendation to use Baja bush pilots. They automatically file US and MX APIS, automatically generate and send the MX Excel passenger manifest with relevant information, and are a great resource for information. Using a handler, and Baja Bush Pilots portal, I can completely plan and file a flight in under 10 minutes. I keep a notebook with all my international paperwork and multiple copies, so don't have to recreate the wheel each time.
 
Another vote for Flashpass here. Art is a great guy and, because of his business, always has a finger on the pulse of what's going on.

I've never actually used Baja Bush Pilots for anything, but they have a very good reputation.
https://cstflightservices.com/ is another option in the same category.

WDD said:
Haven't been, and my personal feeling is Mexico is sketchy enough as a tourist, let alone to fly there in a GA plane. If others have first hand experience, I would like to be proven wrong.
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I do agree that Mexico is sketchy though. Whenever I'm at my place at the beach, it's like a black hole that is hard to find the velocity necessary to escape. Sometimes I fear that I'll never make it back to the USA.

rene86mx said:
I'd add the Flight Plan format here: https://www.gob.mx/cms/uploads/attachment/file/524966/FPL_FORM_AFAC.PDF
I always fill it in my laptop, print it (3x) and fill manually times (filing, departure, etc)

Flight plan closure and other file available here: http://vuelamex.com/downloads.html
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I agree with all this, and want to point out a subtle tip buried in there: Bringing copies of things is often useful. Saves you time and hassle if you can just give them a copy instead of them having to do so themselves. Rene mentioned the flight plan, which is almost a requirement. I carry extra copies of insurance as well.

Maybe my main advice would be to bring patience. Both with the staff at the airport and with yourself. Every airport is different. Some a very efficient. Some simply are not. Some are well organized (Tampico is one I use often because all the offices are with steps of one another). Others are not. GA will always be prioritized behind schedules flights. On a couple occasions I've had a fuel truck pull up in front of my plane and suddenly take off again because a scheduled flight touched down and the had to go handle it.

It's all been worth it to me though. I love traveling Mexico in a different way than most people get to.
 
Thanks, Rene and Rich—really appreciate the forms, service recommendations and practical advice. I’m keeping a planning binder, and those extra copies sound well worth bringing.

Does either of you have a preference between Cancún and Cozumel for a first arrival in a C172, particularly for 100LL, customs and overall fees?

Christopher
 
My insurance (Old Republic) specifically excludes liability for Mexico. Any recommendations? Ideally I'd like an add on for Mexico, and not have to rewrite completely.
 
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