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Airport staff report passenger milestone and cargo gains; customs, FIS and FTZ activity discussed
Summary
Staff reported passenger milestones, cargo tonnage trends and activity in the airport's FIS (customs) and FTZ programs; members discussed the effect of migrant transportation changes, tariffs and limited Mexican customs approvals on cargo and routes.
Airport staff reviewed passenger and cargo activity and gave the board updates on foreign inspections (FIS), U.S. customs coordination and Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) inquiries.
Gilberto (airport staff) reported what he described as a milestone year for passenger counts and said the year started strong. "A 50,000 passengers, which is a a milestone for Laredo," he said during the meeting when summarizing recent traffic.
Board members asked how changes in migrant transportation would affect passenger totals. Gilberto said his figures estimated migrants had accounted for about 8,000 to 9,000 passengers annually; removing those would reduce the reported count but still leave a substantial gain compared with prior years.
On cargo, staff reported a strong 2024 and early 2025 activity. "2024 was a very good year with 798,000,000 pounds landed here," an airport speaker said; staff also told the board the airport recorded roughly 100 million pounds in the first two months of the current year. Staff cautioned that tariffs and international trade policy can produce sharp day-to-day swings in cargo operations and cited a single day when operations dropped markedly after a tariff change.
FIS and FTZ: staff said Laredo remains one of a small number of U.S. airports with limited Mexican customs clearance arrangements for a handful of commodities and operations. The board heard that the program is limited to a few airports and specific commodity categories; Mexican approval is required to expand participation. Staff also described steady FIS activity for private and charter traffic and said they are working to collect overdue FIS user fees from some operators.
Why it matters: passenger and cargo volumes drive airline capacity decisions, cargo business prospects and airport revenues. Staff highlighted that international cargo programs and customs approvals are outside local control and can require Mexican-side approvals.
Ending: Board members asked staff to continue monitoring tariffs, customs approvals and the migration of passenger segments tied to migrant transport. Staff said they will follow up on overdue FIS accounts and continue marketing FIS/FTZ opportunities.
