Frequent winter fog has caused major disruptions at Tijuana International Airport in recent years, but a new landing system is expected to be operational by the end of October.
Airport director Carlos Salgado de la Peña said the new Instrument Landing System (ILS) will officially begin operating on October 29, following a 40 million pesos investment.
The upgraded system will operate at Category II, compared with the Category I system previously in place. The technology provides aircraft with precision guidance during approaches and allows operations under lower-visibility conditions, subject to the required procedures and authorizations.
A Response to Winter Disruptions
The upgrade comes after fog repeatedly disrupted flights at Tijuana International Airport during the 2025 winter season.
In November, one episode affected more than 7,000 passengers and 69 flights, including 32 cancellations. The situation became even more severe in December, when 71 flights were canceled and another 40 delayed between December 13 and 15 following a closure of more than 12 hours that left hundreds of passengers spending the night inside the terminal.
Fog is particularly recurrent between November and February, making the new system especially relevant during the months when low visibility has historically caused the greatest problems.
Airport officials estimate that the upgrade could allow 98% of the airport’s annual operations to take place without disruptions related to low visibility.
The System Can Eventually Be Upgraded
According to Salgado, the new equipment also has the technical capacity to evolve to Category III, allowing the airport to continue upgrading its navigation technology in the future.
For now, the focus is on putting the Category II system into operation and improving the reliability of flight operations during periods of reduced visibility.
