Mexico says FAA flight warnings are precautionary, have no operational impact

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) connected Friday issued advisories urging U.S. hose pilots to “exercise caution” erstwhile flying supra the Pacific Ocean disconnected the seashore of Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Ecuador, and supra the Gulf of California, owed to subject activities and planetary navigation outer strategy (GNSS) interference.

The notices, The New York Times reported, were “similar to advisories the FAA issued past twelvemonth for areas astir Venezuela and the Caribbean Sea arsenic the U.S. subject stepped up a run of vessel strikes targeting what it said were cause smugglers.”

“The FAA issued much urgent warnings earlier this twelvemonth arsenic the United States undertook an cognition to seizure Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s leader,” the Times added.

The paper besides reported that “it was not instantly wide what prompted the FAA to contented Friday’s advisories.”

In a statement, Mexico’s Ministry of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport (SICT) described the FAA’s proposal arsenic a precautionary measurement and asserted that determination was nary alteration to operating conditions successful Mexican airspace.

On Sunday, President Claudia Sheinbaum said that the United States wasn’t conducting immoderate subject enactment successful “national territory.”

However, a U.S. subject level landed astatine Toluca airdrome connected Saturday to prime up Mexican information officials and instrumentality them to the U.S. for training, according to Sheinbaum.

The FAA’s issuance of 7 NOTAMs (notices to airmen) came 8 days aft U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States was “going to commencement present hitting land, with respect to the cartels.”

FAA: ‘Potential risks beryllium for craft astatine each altitudes’

Each of the 7 NOTAMs issued by the FAA past Friday warned of “potentially hazardous” situations successful overwater areas.

A summary of the determination NOTAMs issued connected Jan. 16, 2026. (FAA)

One of the NOTAMs referred specifically to the “Mexico Flight Information Region,” the airspace for which Mexican aerial postulation services are responsible. Another referred to the Mazatlán Oceanic Flight Information Region, which encompasses airspace disconnected Mexico’s Pacific coast.

“U.S. operators are advised to workout caution erstwhile operating successful the overwater areas supra the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California successful the Mexico Flight Information Region (MMFR) owed to subject activities and GNSS interference. Potential risks beryllium for craft astatine each altitudes, including during overflight and the accomplishment and departure phases of flight,” states NOTAM A0018/26.

“This NOTAM applies to each U.S. aerial carriers and commercialized operators; each persons exercising the privileges of an airman certificate issued by the FAA, but specified persons operating U.S.-registered craft for a overseas aerial carrier; and each operators of civilian craft registered successful the United States, but erstwhile the relation of specified craft is simply a overseas aerial carrier.”

The FAA issued a NOTAM with the aforesaid connection for U.S. operators successful the Mazatlán Oceanic Flight Information Region.

The FAA besides issued NOTAMs for areas supra the Pacific Ocean successful the Central America Flight Information Region, the Bogotá Flight Information Region, the Guayaquil Flight Information Region, the Panama Flight Information Region and a information of the “NO FIR AREA” — i.e., an country not successful a designated formation accusation region.

The validity of each of the NOTAMs is from Jan. 16 to Mar. 17. The two-month validity of the NOTAMs suggests “a prolonged play of imaginable subject readying successful the region,” The New York Times reported.

Writing astir the FAA warnings successful his work The Mexico Political Economist, Alex González Ormerod said that “it is little apt that this is simply a notation to an impending onslaught and much astir continuing and increas[ing] covert surveillance operations implicit Mexican skies by U.S. forces.”

SICT: No ‘operational implications oregon restrictions’ for Mexico oregon Mexican airlines

Apparently referring to the NOTAM for the Mexico Flight Information Region, the SICT described the FAA announcement arsenic being of a “preventive nature.”

“It is important to specify that this NOTAM does not represent a prohibition, but is alternatively a precautionary measurement aimed astatine reinforcing attraction and attraction successful aerial operations wrong definite regions of airspace. There are nary operational implications oregon restrictions for Mexico, oregon Mexican airlines oregon operators,” the ministry said.

Citing accusation from the FAA, the SICT besides said that the NOTAM was “issued exclusively for United States civilian [aviation] operators, including its airlines and pilots, since that authorization lone has jurisdiction to contented provisions applicable to operators from its ain country.”

The ministry noted that akin NOTAMs were antecedently issued by the FAA for the “Caribbean region.”

“The SICT reiterates that determination is nary interaction whatsoever connected civilian aviation successful Mexico, nor immoderate changes successful the operating conditions of nationalist airspace,” the connection said.

SICT added that it “maintains changeless connection with planetary aeronautical authorities to show this benignant of announcement wrong the model of practice and operational safety.”

Sheinbaum: No US subject enactment successful Mexico 

During a sojourn to San Miguel de Allende connected Sunday, Sheinbaum was asked what benignant of “maneuvers” the United States was carrying retired successful Mexico.

“Nothing. … The SICT issued a statement,” she said. “Nothing successful nationalist territory.”

Sheinbaum has asserted connected repeated occasions that the United States won’t behaviour immoderate benignant of unilateral subject involution against cartels successful Mexico, adjacent though Trump has said things specified arsenic “strikes successful Mexico to halt drugs” are “OK” with him.

After a telephone with the U.S. president past Monday, Sheinbaum said that the onshore strikes connected cartels that Trump had spoken astir days earlier could beryllium ruled out.

Nevertheless, Trump’s caller remarks, and the United States’ cognition successful Venezuela connected Jan. 3, person accrued expectations that the U.S. subject could so instrumentality enactment against cartels successful Mexico. The U.S. subject has already attacked astatine slightest 1 alleged cause vessel disconnected Mexico’s Pacific coast, though the onslaught occurred successful planetary waters.

While Sheinbaum said Sunday that the U.S. wasn’t carrying retired immoderate “maneuvers” successful Mexico, a U.S. subject level did onshore astatine Toluca airdrome connected Saturday.

The national government’s Security Cabinet said Sunday that its “presence” was the effect of a “flight authorized by Mexican authorities” and was related to “training activities.”

Sheinbaum said connected Monday greeting that the formation was authorized past October and “had to bash with a grooming issue.”

“… It’s not thing exceptional,” said the president, who stressed that nary U.S. troops had travel into the country.

“They’re logistical tasks that they transportation out,” she said.

Sheinbaum subsequently said that Mexican information officials boarded the U.S. subject level to question to the United States to undertake training. She conceded that it would person been amended for them to question to the United States connected a Mexican subject plane.

“But it was authorized [by the Ministry of Defense] and it was authorized immoderate clip ago,” Sheinbaum said.

With reports from The New York Times, DW, El Financiero, EFE and El Economista