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. Moreover, 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 consider if I am coming from an international flight or vice versa? Here we’ll tell you how to go from terminal 1 to 2 and to City center from Mexico City Airport.
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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What to do if my layover is very long?
If you have a very long layover in CDMX and you don’t want to stay on the benches waiting, I have good news for you: there are many options. Of course, it all depends on how you feel and the time of your layover.
For example, if your stopover is during the day, you can take the opportunity to take either a free walking tour or a free tour of the Bosque de Chapultepec.
On the other hand, if your layover is late in the afternoon, at night or even during the day, but you are exhausted, you can take a nap. There is something for all budgets and if you want to stay in a hotel without leaving the terminals you have options:
- At Terminal 1: the capsule hotel izZzleep
- At Terminal 2: either the NH hotel or capsule hotel izZzleep
Air train
If you have a boarding pass, this is the most practical option, and the cheapest, since it is FREE. Here is the important thing for them to let you access the Air Train is that you have the boarding pass for 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.
If you have a flight with Aeromexico
Aeromexico has started to have flights from Terminal 1 as well. So in case you have an Aeromexico flight and your next flight is also with them with a change of terminal, you can make the transfer without having to go through security.
When your flight arrives, follow the Aeromexico transfer instructions. Of course, in Terminal 2, almost at the end of the road, at least in our experience, when we arrived at Hall A, we did not see many more indications. Let’s hope that today you can see a sign, in case you don’t know where to go, ask the airport staff for help asking them where you can take the COBUS buses for your Aeroméxico change.
Arrival of international flights: Mandatory migration check
In the past, they gave out some forms on the plane to fill them out, this was important to have for a foreigner, since when you left you had to show it. Even when taking internal flights later, they could have asked for it. This has changed and nowadays only the passport is stamped and that’s it.
This applies to many of the airports in Mexico, we are uncertain if they are all, but the CDMX airport certainly does because we hardly ever go there again (in 2022).
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In case of passing by land, you have to fill out the online form here. But, please, check with migration when crossing, so that your entry into the country is registered.
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)
Do I have to go through customs if I have a connecting flight?
Another thing that, in my opinion, was greatly improved was the fact that, if you go through Mexico City on a connecting flight, it is no longer necessary to pick up your bags to clear customs and re-document them. Already, this last time we flew to Mexico, we were able to pick up the bags to our final destination.
This represents a great saving of time and an improvement in the connection experience in CDMX.
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 on 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 Zocalo you need one more change with Line 2 (Blue) in direction “Cuatro Caminos”, it’s just one stop (called Zocalo) so you will probably prefer to walk 🙂
Find the combination that suits you best in this Mexico City Metro Map
Tell us: how was your travel to the Mexico City Airport?
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