We will tell you how to go between terminals 1 and 2 at Mexico City’s airport. We’ll tell you what you need to get to the city center
When you arrive at the Benito Juárez airport, better known as the Mexico City airport or AICM, it can seem somewhat intimidating. On top of that, that one terminal is so far from the other creates many doubts, how can I go from one to the other? What do I have to take into account if I am coming from an international flight or vice versa? Here we’ll tell you how go go from terminal 1 to 2 and to City center from Mexico City Airport.
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How to move between the terminal 1 to 2, and viceversa, at Mexico City Airport?
So far I have used two options, everything will depend on an important factor:
- You have a boarding pass to go to the next terminal
- You don’t have a boarding pass
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Air train
If you have a boarding pass this is the most practical option, and the cheapest since it is FREE. Here the important thing for them to let you access the Air Train is that you have the boarding pass of your next flight. So you can show why you go from one terminal to the other, I suppose they do it to avoid abusive use.
In Terminal 1, access to the air train is at gate 6; and in Terminal 2 at gate 4. The hours of this service are from 5:00 AM to 1:00 AM, 365 days a year.

Tetsa bus
If you do not have a boarding pass, for example: you are arriving at Terminal 2 and you want to go to Terminal 1 to take the metro, then there is the option of Tetsa buses. The bus has a space to store luggage and in addition to stopping at T1 and T2 it also stops at Hangares subway station.

But as you can imagine, these buses are not free, they have a cost and here we tell you how much: (you pay the driver directly when boarding)
- $16.00 pesos per person for a single trip leaving Terminal 1 towards Terminal 2 and vice versa.
- $6.00 pesos per person on a single trip leaving Terminal 1 towards Aduanas (Customs). Same price for a single trip leaving Terminal 2 towards the Hangares subway station.
To take the Tetsa from Terminal 1 you have to exit more or less through gate 6 and from Terminal 2 through gate 4. In any case, there will be signs indicating the buses.


Arrival of international flights: Mandatory migration check
If you are arriving from an international flight, even if you have a connection to another country and that you are not going to leave the same terminal, always take into account that you will have to go through migration. It is inevitable, unfortunately. And after migration you have to go and collect your luggage to go through customs.
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Take notice: in case you have a connecting flight, just after passing customs there will be some bands where you can deposit your luggage so it goes on its way. In case you have to go to the other terminal follow the steps I described above. In case your next flight is in the same terminal, just follow the path indicating that you stay in the same terminal, so you will continue in the international zone.

If you depart for an international flight and you are Mexican they will ask you to deliver a form that they are supposed to have given you at the time of check-in. I always forget and I spend a little courage when they do not let me get on the plane and I have to fill out the piece of paper at full speed (I like to get on the first steps to take photos of the empty plane for the airline reviews that I share with you on this blog)
Options by subway to go to the Center of Mexico City
- From Terminal 2: take Tetsa bus and get off at the “Hangares” subway station
- From Terminal 1: Follow the indications inside the terminal to take the subway at “Terminal Aérea”
Both options are with Line 5 (yellow)

There is also the option of hiring private transport, if you are several people with enough luggage it can be an interesting option. Because getting on the subway with a cabin-style suitcase is OK, but bringing two large suitcases per person with the stairs is quite uncomfortable.
How to go to the Zocalo in Mexico City by metro from the airport?
Whether you get on Terminal Aérea or Hangares, you will head towards Pantitlan until the end of the line. From there you look for Line 1 (Rosa) in the direction of “Observatorio” and get off at Pino Suárez station, you are already quite central there, but to go to the Zócalo you need one more change with Line 2 (Blue) in direction “Cuatro Caminos”, it’s just one stop (called Zócalo) so you will probably prefer to walk 🙂
Find the combination that suits you best in this Mexico City Metro Map
And to finish here we leave you some options of FREE TOURS through Mexico City, if you are making a stopover and want to take one you have to make sure that the time is sufficient and adequate:
Tell us: how was your travel to the Mexico City Airport?
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