When natural disasters occur, one of the most important functions of ASUR as an airport company is to ensure that its airports remain open, so that emergency services and relief supplies can be brought into the affected areas. To this end, ASUR has invested in a series of safety measures and has disaster recovery plans in all nine of the airports it operates, to safeguard the continuity of operations.
Fortunately, during the year 2008 the regions where ASUR operates were relatively unaffected by natural disasters. However, the company’s defences were put to the test in November of 2007, when widespread flooding occurred in the Mexican state of Tabasco, and prior to that in October of 2005 when Hurricane Wilma hit Cancún.
In the 2007 floods, Villahermosa Airport (located in the Tabasco state capital) remained open uninterruptedly, allowing the large-scale mobilisation of the Mexican rescue services and the arrival of emergency supplies for the local population. Independently of the nationwide relief effort, ASUR put together an aid package for the airport’s workers and their families, many of whom lost their homes, including supplies of food, water and medicines, furniture and appliances to replace those ruined by the flood waters, and financial assistance.
When Hurricane Wilma made landfall on Mexico’s Caribbean coast in 2005, with devastating consequences for the resort of Cancún, the airport was only closed for a relatively short period, while wind speeds made aircraft takeoffs and landings too dangerous. In a matter of hours, the airport was able to re-establish limited operations to allow emergency landings of planes carrying supplies and rescue workers, although commercial flights were suspended for a total of nine days. Two months after the hurricane had passed, ASUR announced the decision to bring forward the construction of Terminal 3 in Cancún, as a stimulus for the regional economy.