Boulevard Puerto Aéreo metro station is a station of the Mexico City Metro in Venustiano Carranza, Mexico City. It is an underground station with two side platforms, serving Line 1 (the Pink Line) between Balbuena and Gómez Farías metro stations. It services the colonias (neighborhoods) of Moctezuma, Santa Cruz Aviación, and Valentín Gómez Farías. Situated beneath Puerto Aéreo Boulevard, after which it is named, the station is close to Calzada Ignacio Zaragoza. The station's pictogram features a silhouette of an air vent under a road bridge, referencing a landmark found at the junction of these two avenues. The station facilities offer accessibility for people with disabilities, featuring elevators, escalators, tactile pavings and wheelchair ramps. Outside, the station includes a transport hub servicing local bus routes. Boulevard Puerto Aéreo metro station was inaugurated on 4 September 1969, and opened the following day, as Aeropuerto metro station with westbound service towards Chapultepec and eastward service toward Zaragoza. It was initially named for its proximity to the Mexico City International Airport at the time of its opening, and its original pictogram depicted the silhouette of an airliner. However, in 1981, Terminal Aérea metro station on Line 5 (the Yellow Line) replaced this function because it was built next to the airport. Due to ongoing confusion among travelers, the station's name and logo were changed in 1997. In 2019, the station had an average daily ridership of 23,095 passengers, ranking it the 63rd busiest station in the network and the 13th most used on the line. Boulevard Puerto Aéreo metro station was closed from July 2022 to October 2023 due to modernization works on the tunnel and the line's technical equipment.

Location and layout

Boulevard Puerto Aéreo is an underground metro station situated on the avenue of the same name and Calzada Ignacio Zaragoza, in Venustiano Carranza, Mexico City. The station serves three Colonias (neighborhoods), Moctezuma, Santa Cruz Aviación, and Valentín Gómez Farías. Boulevard Puerto Aéreo metro station has five exits leading to Puerto Aéreo Boulevard and one to Calzada Ignacio Zaragoza. The north and northeast exits serve Colonia Santa Cruz Aviación, while the northwest exit services Colonia Moctezuma. The south and southwest serve Colonia Valentín Gómez Farías along the boulevard, and the southeast entrance serves this neighborhood along Calzada Ignacio Zaragoza. The station offers a disabled-accessible service with elevators, escalators, wheelchair ramps and tactile pavings. Within the metro system, the station lies between Balbuena and Gómez Farías. The area is serviced by a Centro de transferencia modal (CETRAM), which functions as a transport hub for connecting various modes of transportation, Line 4 (formerly Line G) of the trolleybus system, Route 43 of the Red de Transporte de Pasajeros bus network, and Route 20-B of the city's public bus system.

History and construction

Line 1 of the Mexico City Metro was built by Ingeniería de Sistemas de Transportes Metropolitano, Electrometro and Cometro, the latter being a subsidiary of Empresas ICA. Its first section was inaugurated on 4 September 1969, operating from Chapultepec to Zaragoza metro stations. It opened to the general public the following day. The tunnel between Boulevard Puerto Aéreo and Gómez Farías spans 611 m in length, while the section between Boulevard Puerto Aéreo and Balbuena measures 595 m. In 2016, the station received renovation works that included repairs to ticket offices, floors, walls, ceilings, electrical installations, lighting, paging system and video surveillance system. The station was closed on 11 July 2022 for modernization work on the tunnel and technical equipment of the line. After fifteen months of renovations, authorities reopened Boulevard Puerto Aéreo station on 29 October 2023. Excélsior reported in July 2024 that all the modernized stations had leaks of varying dimensions, with water filtrations detected in the walls of Boulevard Puerto Aéreo station, resulting in constant runoff into the drains. This issue left damp marks and affected the facilities. Authorities had stated they would seal these leaks during the 2022 modernization repairs.

Name and pictogram

Originally, Boulevard Puerto Aéreo was named Aeropuerto due to its proximity (approximately 15 blocks) to the Mexico City International Airport, and its original pictogram featured an airliner. In 1981, Terminal Aérea metro station on Line 5 (the Yellow Line) was built next to the airport. Despite this, confusion persisted, with passengers continuing to alight at Aeropuerto due to its name and pictogram. It was until 1997 that the station was renamed "Boulevard Puerto Aéreo" and the logo was replaced with a pictogram of a bridge with a dome below symbolizing a nearby air vent designed to prevent street garbage from entering the platforms.

Incidents

On 2 June 2021, the station received a bomb threat. Following six hours of examinations, the city's Secretariat of Security determined that no explosives were present.

Ridership

According to data provided by authorities, before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public transport, commuters averaged per year between 22,800 and 29,600 daily entrances between 2014 and 2019; the station had a ridership of 8,429,972 passengers in 2019, marking an increase of 78,230 passengers compared to 2018. In 2019 specifically, Boulevard Puerto Aéreo metro station ranked as the 63rd busiest station out of the system's 195 stations and was the 13th busiest on Line 1.