San Miguel is bustling with activity as people prepare for Christmas and New Year’s celebrations and all the visitors who will be flocking to the city to enjoy them. Shoppers are busy looking for gifts, and some will be delivering them in person to lucky recipients in Mexico and abroad.
Speaking of travel, there is news on a prospective airport for SMA, an access modernization plan for the airport in Querétaro, bus service from SMA to the newer airport in Mexico City and a controversial golf course proposal. We also have some other timely local items to help keep you informed.
Airport news from San Miguel, Querétaro and beyond
Will San Miguel get its own airport?
As readers of Mexico News Daily may be aware, San Miguel is one of five potential sites under consideration for new regional airports. The new airports are proposed for Guanajuato, Jalisco, Quintana Roo and Baja California, and, because of its increasing tourism economy and international profile, San Miguel made the list.
These airports are still in the planning and study stage, which could take several years due to all the preparation that needs to be done to find appropriate sites and make sure they will work for a large commercial facility. One potential location east of San Miguel known as the San Julián aerodrome has been suggested, although it is said to have land constraints. Other sites to the west and southwest of the city could be under consideration in the meantime.
The infrastructure plan to modernize and expand 62 airports by 2030 carries a price tag of 134 billion pesos (about US $7.5 billion) — a major chunk of change when the federal government is paying for new social initiatives, transfers to states and municipalities, debt servicing and energy and other infrastructure investments. The 2026 federal budget exceeds 10 trillion pesos (more than US $566 billion), so it remains to be seen where new regional airports will rank on the priority list in the next few years.
A major source of new money could be the just-passed Mexican tariffs of between 5% and 50% on more than 1,400 products from China, India, Brazil and a host of other countries. Government estimates put the potential annual revenue at 70 billion pesos (US $3.8 billion) after the tariffs kick in on Jan. 1, 2026. (Imported Chinese cars will be hit with a 50% tariff, which will impact the BYD electric/hybrid distributor site under construction at Salida a Celaya 95A in San Miguel.)
Modernization projects proposed for QRO
(Querétaro International Airport)
Querétaro Governor Mauricio Kuri González proposed several access changes to the Aeropuerto Internacional de Querétaro (QRO) at a meeting earlier this month with federal government officials in Mexico City.
Among other proposals, Kuri informed Secretary of Infrastructure, Communications and Transport Jesús Antonio Esteva Medina that tunnels for left turns and greater mobility and access to the airport are needed.
The current Querétaro airport opened in late 2004 to deal with expanding air traffic. It replaced an airport facility that had started operating in 1955 and was officially designated as international in 1997.
Direct bus service offered from San Miguel de Allende to AIFA
ETN Turistar is offering limited direct bus service from San Miguel to the Felipe Ángeles International Airport (AIFA), about 52 miles north of Mexico City. One bus is scheduled to leave at 9:40 a.m. daily from the central bus station on Calzada de la Estación, make two stops (one in Querétaro and one in Tepotzotlán) and arrive at AIFA at 1:55 p.m.
In October, the U.S. Department of Transportation revoked approval for 13 commercial routes on Mexican airlines from both AIFA (NLU airport code) and Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX) to major U.S. hubs. However, AIFA passengers can fly to other international destinations, such as Cuba, Dominican Republic, Colombia and Venezuela, or, more likely, take domestic flights to a variety of destinations via Aeroméxico, Volaris, Viva Aerobus, Mexicana or Aerus.
AIFA is reportedly running at about one-third of its installed capacity, although it was designed to serve up to 20 million passengers annually. In 2024, it handled just 6.3 million passengers, compared to 45.4 million at MEX that year. AIFA also does a significant amount of air cargo business.
Residency financial requirements hiked for 2026
In January, the Instituto Nacional de Migración (INM) will again raise the financial requirements to qualify for a permanent or temporary residency visa. For temporary residency, the monthly income required will be US $5,250 and CAD $6,750, or investments worth US $87,500 or CAD $112,500, or home ownership in Mexico worth 12,520,000 pesos (about US $695,000).
For permanent residency, the monthly income required in 2026 will be US $8,750 or CAD $11,250, or investments worth US $350,000 or CAD $450,000.
INM will be closed for the holidays from Dec. 22 through Jan. 1, 2026, and reopen on Jan. 2. Reports are its offices will soon be relocating a couple miles beyond the current location on Calzada de la Estación.
Local opposition surfaces to proposed golf course
Due to concerns about water supply from the Independence Aquifer and other environmental risks, the El Charco del Ingenio Botanical Garden is opposing the development of a golf course proposed for San Miguel by golfer Lorena Ochoa.
“… [W]e publicly reject the development of this golf course and call for restraint and common sense so that the competent authorities prevent this attack and take actions in favor of life and in accordance with the suitability of our territory,” El Charco stated in its December newsletter.
Ochoa, described as Mexico’s most accomplished golfer and a World Golf Hall of Fame member, said in a September social media post that she was working with partners to develop a fourth golf course here. Following immediate pushback from local citizens and environmentalists, she reportedly removed the post within days. No permits had been applied for or granted at that point, according to municipal officials.
San Miguel currently has three golf courses: two 18-hole courses (Malanquin and Las Ventanas) and one nine-hole option (Zirandaro).
Restaurant changes coming in January
Local legend Café MuRo is closing next month after 15 years of operation. After launching in 2010 on Callejón Loreto in Centro, the restaurant moved about six years later to its current space at San Gabriel 1 in the Obraje neighborhood. Café MuRo built a dedicated following over the years, but after co-owner Gerardo Arteaga passed away in May, partner Carlos MuRo found it necessary to close the doors
In a Dec. 8 farewell Facebook post, MuRo thanked all of those who had been a part of the restaurant “for enjoying our food, our MuRo salad, our guava jam, our chilaquiles …” and said he would see them down the road.
Word is that Rústica, the popular breakfast, brunch and lunch restaurant at Salida a Celaya 34, plans to start serving dinner sometime next month. Details are few so far, but it sounds like Rústica plans to expand operations from Monday through Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., by adding on several evening hours and possibly some dinner menu items. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.
Cathy Siegner is an independent journalist based in San Miguel and Montana. She has journalism degrees from the University of Oregon and Northwestern University.
