Mexicana, which suspended all flights five months ago, is to resume ticket sales on January 24 but does not yet have a date to return to service.
The airline, which ran a route from Gatwick, suspended all flights in August and a judge later granted it bankruptcy protection. Mexicana initially blamed its financial woes on high labour costs after failing to reach a deal with unions on major cost-cutting.
Mexico’s deputy transport secretary Humberto Trevino reportedly said: “The 24th is maintained as a start date for commercial operations, but not for aeronautical operations.” He was speaking after meeting airline representatives, potential investors and government officials.
Trevino said a deal for some $200 million was being finalised to enable one of the country’s two main airlines to return to the skies. PC Capital, the main investment firm to express interest in Mexicana, has sought to join with other companies to secure the financing. The investment has to be majority in Mexicana according to the country’s law.
Mexicana was likely to return to a handful of popular national routes and to several destinations in the US and Canada. The company previously carried around 22,000 passengers on 220 daily flights.