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avianca SVP of corporate affairs Ángela Orozco, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Latin America & Caribbean, stated (10-Sep-2026) one of the toughest regional challenges facing airlines operating in Latin America and the Caribbean is that "We have still very high taxes and charges on our connectivity". Ms Orozco cited an ALTA study from 2023 that found "Latin America and the Caribbean has the highest tax and charge burdens on tickets" of any region worldwide, noting: "It's around USD44 per ticket. On average, it's like 29% of the ticket fare. In Colombia, it's 38% of the ticket fare, and that's charged to the passengers". She said part of the problem is the lingering perception by some governments and the general public that aviation "is a rich industry... that there's only high-value customers, that still air transportation is for rich people... that we can afford the tax", when in actuality "air transportation is not a luxury in our countries". She continued: "[Air travel] is really public transportation in countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, really is a critical service for our societies... a critical service for the common people", given flying is often the only way to travel between destinations separated by dense jungle or mountain ranges, and the lack of rail infrastructure within and between Latin American countries. [more - CAPA TV]

Aeromexico SVP institutional relations, government, airports and industry affairs Cuitlahuac Gutierrez, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Latin America & Caribbean, stated (10-Sep-2026) for years airlines in Mexico were permitted to exempt foreign national international transit passengers at Mexican airports from some visitor tax and airport usage tax fees, "putting Mexico in a very nice position" for "hub-and-spoke" operations via Mexico City. Mr Gutierrez noted roughly three years ago "because [of a] change in the regulation, that exemption was rejected", meaning "now international passengers connecting from Central America and South America through Mexico to Asia or Europe, they need to pay around USD80". He added: "Now there is a proposal in the Congress to [further increase Mexico's Non-Resident Fee (DNR) for international arrivals] by 35%", opining: "This will put Mexico in a position completely uncompetitive with hubs like Panama or Lima or Bogota". Mr Gutierrez urged Mexico's Government to see that removing the exemption on these fees for "international connecting passengers" will reduce, rather than increase, the tax revenue generated, due to the impact these fees have on international passenger traffic transiting Mexico, stating: "What they haven't seen is that this traffic has been reduced, and of course they are getting less money than if they had been exempting these passengers to connecting". [more - CAPA TV]

Amerijet International CEO Joe Mozzali, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Latin America & Caribbean, stated (11-Sep-2026) the carrier sees the biggest opportunities to use AI in tech operation and maintenance. He also noted opportunities to use AI in pricing and customer service. [more - CAPA TV]

Copa Airlines senior director of cargo Jaime Alvarez, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Latin America & Caribbean, expressed (11-Sep-2026) his belief that the cargo business will continue to grow in Latin America over the next five years despite rising fuel prices. Mr Alvarez said: "My concern with the fuel is that if it continues to be high, it's not going to be good for anybody. Everything is going to be way too much more expensive". He added: "Things are going to have to adapt". [more - CAPA TV]

Amerijet International CEO Joe Mozzali, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Latin America & Caribbean, stated (11-Sep-2026) the biggest difference between Latin America and some of the other cargo trade lanes is that the Latin America trade flows are "very balanced". Mr Mozzali added: "Very balanced southbound, where you're moving e-commerce or freight of all kinds, and then moving northbound, you're moving flowers out of Colombia, fish out of the Caribbean and okra out of Honduras". [more - CAPA TV]

Copa Airlines senior director of cargo Jaime Alvarez, speaking at the CAPA Airline Leader Summit Latin America & Caribbean, called (11-Sep-2026) the AI a "necessary evil" that will help improve the cargo business. Mr Alvarez said: "There is pricing, capacity estimation, revenue management, and a whole lot of things that we will be able to do better with AI". [more - CAPA TV]