Having controlled the Mexico Approach frequency on the Expert Server several times, I realize that many pilots don’t know how to properly arrive into this field. And this makes the lives of both controllers and pilots more difficult. Longer approaches, delays, violations, terrain and traffic busts, etc. This guide is here to teach you the most common mistakes pilots make and how to fix them for a smoother approach. If we as pilots cooperate, we could have fewer delays and a better overall experience.
If you have deep knowledge of the Mexico City airspace and its procedures and find any errors in this guide or want to provide feedback, please do so. I’ll be more than happy to make all corrections necessary.
Your challenges as a pilot
- It is a hot & high airport, so you will see a considerable increase in your groundspeed compared to what you’re used to operating at an airport closer to sea level. This means that you must slow down much earlier than normal.
- Mexico City is situated in a valley surrounded by elevated terrain, and some peaks can go as high as FL170. Available airspace for maneuvers inside the valley is therefore very reduced.
- Mexico City’s runways aren’t quite long for an airfield located more than 7,000 feet above sea level due to the increased groundspeeds caused by its hot & high condition. Pilots often underestimate this.
- Due to terrain avoidance, procedures are more complicated. There’s no such thing as straight-ins when approaching the 05 runways. Pilots must react quickly to ATC vectors and restrictions. Descent profiles require precision; if you come in too high and fast, the field will punish you with delay vectors, holds, and even a missed approach. Go-arounds are more complex as well.
- Although it has 2 parallel runways, parallel operations at MMMX are forbidden in real life due to lack of separation between them. Any decent controller will also forbid them on Expert Server. This reduces the capacity of receiving inbounds importantly.
List of mistakes pilots make flying into MMMX and how to fix them:
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Contacting approach too high: the biggest cause of migraine for both pilots and controllers at MMMX.
Solutions:- If you imported your FPL from SimBrief, delete the entire STAR from your flight plan and re-file it from the procedures available in the sim by going on the map, clicking on MMMX, and clicking the “PROC” button. The altitudes that SimBrief includes in your imported FPL are trash. It causes a descent profile that is extremely steep and will only get you punished at MMMX.
- As a general rule of thumb, you should not be contacting Mexico Approach if you’re above FL250. IF this is the case, perform a hold or a 360 before entering the approach (50 NM within the airport) airspace to descend in time.
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Flying too fast: Mexico City has a condition called hot & high. Feel free to look up what it means on Wikipedia. But in summary, it means that the air here is less dense due to high elevation and temperatures at the field. This increases your groundspeed compared to your airspeed and in result, makes you faster than what you do at airports closer to sea level at the same airspeeds.
Solutions:- As soon as you’re 50 NM out of the airport and/or you contact the approach frequency, reduce your speed to 280 IAS. You’ll need to go much slower later on, and it won’t be easy to slow down on time if you’re flying in at 340 IAS.
- Before entering the point-merge arcs (the arc shapes you see in the STARs), slow down to 230 IAS. This is to allow for a smaller turn radius if approach tells you to fly directly to the merging point.
- Approach should be providing the rest of the speed restrictions, and if no approach is available, follow the restrictions found in the navigation charts.
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Not understanding how to navigate the point-merge: There are a lot of great tutorials already on how to navigate a point-merge, so just look them up. And please understand that when the approach tells you to “continue as filed” after you reach the merging point means that heading AND altitude are now at your discretion. You must continue descending at your own pace unless told otherwise.
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Overshooting the localizer: This is purely caused by high speeds.
Solution:- Again, Mexico City International is a hot and high field. Once you are on base, before turning to intercept the localizer, reduce your speed to at least 170 IAS; feel free to even do 160. This is the equivalent of doing 180 - 190 IAS at an airport at sea level, and you’ll see that it is harder to overshoot at the proper speed.
- Slow to your slowest practical speed as soon as you are established on final. When approaching the 05s, the length of the final at MMMX is reduced due to terrain avoidance, and you have less time to configure for landing.
Final thoughts
I just made this short list as a result of a session I recently had on the controlling approach at MMMX, and realized that things would be much easier for everyone if pilots understood that MMMX is not your typical field.
Share this guide with anyone you know who may fly into MMMX tomorrow or any day when it is featured on the IFATC schedule. Expert Server can only honor its name if both controllers and pilots cooperate by educating themselves and sharing their education with others.
Let me know if I should edit it or write something else. MMMX is my home airport, so I know a few things about it, not only about arriving but also departing, ground ops, etc. Thanks to anyone who got to the end. Bienvenidos to Mexico City International!
