Mexico City airport races to finish $500M renovation as the 2026 World Cup nears

MEXICO CITY (AP) — With the 2026 FIFA World Cup less than a month away, thousands of passengers arriving at Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport are greeted by a chaotic construction site of buzzing drills, scattered pipes and unfinished flooring.

The construction work coexists with hundreds of posters promoting the soccer tournament, as well as large-scale figures of soccer balls and trophies, which help passengers forget the inconveniences caused by renovations that have dragged on for a year.

Sitting beside one of the six cranes remaining at the Terminal 1 entrance, 28-year-old engineer Luis Ibarra says he isn’t bothered by the renovations. After all, he noted, the airport has suffered for years from flooding, leaky roofs and severe overcrowding.

The countdown to complete one of the largest renovations at Mexico's largest airport has more than 3,000 people working 20 hours a day, airport authorities told The Associated Press.

It has not been an easy task.

One year into the renovation — with the first phase over 90% complete — complications have been “more than we expected,” Adm. Juan José Padilla, general director of the Benito Juárez International Airport, told the AP. He explained that the unexpected challenges stemmed from half-century-old infrastructure and a lack of original blueprints for some areas.

“We are facing years of neglect,” said Padilla, acknowledging that years of underinvestment had affected the terminals handling some 120,000 daily passengers.

Against this backdrop, work began in May 2025 on a $500 million modernization project. The massive undertaking is fully funded by the airport itself, which has been administered by the Mexican Navy since 2023.

Project coordinator Capt. Arturo Flores noted that the massive upgrade includes new terminal facades, renovated restrooms, refreshed baggage carousels, and the replacement of nearly 100,000 square meters (1,100,000 square feet) of flooring and lighting. An internal redesign also reclaimed 30,000 square meters (320,00 square feet) of waiting space for travelers. Phase two will begin in August — following the World Cup — and run through December.

The renovations also include an increase in security cameras — rising from 2,200 to over 4,000 — which will operate using artificial intelligence to detect suspicious vehicles, luggage or individuals.

Padilla noted that an anti-drone system is also expected to be installed shortly to address any contingencies.

Earlier this month, Mexico’s foreign ministry announced an agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation to enforce the 2015 bilateral transportation pact through a new series of measures.

These measures include expanding the number of slots — the specific windows allocated for aircraft takeoffs and landings — which Washington had requested for U.S. airlines. During the previous administration, available slots at the capital’s airport were slashed from 61 to 43 per hour, before ticking back up to 44 last year.

In this regard, Padilla reported that the number of slots available to both foreign and domestic airlines will soon be increased to 46.

The latest airport upgrade is a major initiative by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, following a turbulent period under her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had attempted to reroute capital flight operations to a new, military-run airport in a different location — an effort that ultimately failed to gain traction.

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Workers repair the ceiling of the Terminal 1 during a guided media tour of the renovation work at Benito Juárez International Airport, in preparation for the 2026 World Cup in Mexico City, on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

An employee cleans the waiting area in Terminal 2 during a guided media tour of the renovation work at Benito Juárez International Airport, in preparation for the 2026 World Cup in Mexico City, on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A worker paints the ceiling in Terminal 1 during a guided media tour of the renovation work at Benito Juárez International Airport, in preparation for the 2026 World Cup in Mexico City, on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

A worker paints the ceiling during a guided media tour of the renovation work at Benito Juárez International Airport, in preparation for the 2026 World Cup, as passengers await their flights in Mexico City, Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Workers transport a roll of foam next to the FIFA World Cup trophy during a guided media tour of the renovation site at Benito Juárez International Airport, in preparation for the 2026 World Cup, in Mexico City, on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market bounced back Wednesday after pressure eased on Wall Street from the bond market and oil prices gave back some of their big gains.

The S&P 500 climbed 1.1% for its first rise in four days and pulled closer to its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 645 points, or 1.3%, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 1.5%.

Stocks got a lift from easing yields in the bond market, which offered relief following rapid climbs that had rattled stock markets worldwide recently. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.57% from 4.67% late Tuesday, which is a significant move for a market that measures things in hundredths of a percentage point.

The 10-year Treasury yield had been rising from less than 4% before the war with Iran began, along with other yields around the world, because of worries that the fighting will keep oil prices high, among other factors. The inflation concerns not only seemed to eliminate the chances for a cut to interest rates by the Federal Reserve this year, they also heightened the risk that central banks may have to raise rates in 2026.

High yields slow economies and weigh on prices for stocks, cryptocurrencies and all kinds of other investments. Besides driving up rates for mortgages, they could also curtail companies’ borrowing to build the artificial-intelligence data centers that have been supporting the U.S. economy’s growth recently.

Yields eased Wednesday as oil prices pulled back some more. The price for a barrel of Brent crude fell 5.6% to settle at $105.02, though it remains well above its roughly $70 level from before the war. Prices have been yo-yoing on rising and falling hopes that the United States and Iran can reach an agreement to allow oil deliveries to fully resume from the Persian Gulf to customers worldwide.

A report showing less bad inflation in the United Kingdom than economists expected also helped calm yields worldwide.

With the easing of yields, technology stocks helped lead Wall Street higher.

Nvidia rose 1.3% ahead of its latest profit report, which arrived after trading ended for the day, and was the strongest force lifting the S&P 500. The chip company reported another quarter of bigger growth in profit and revenue than analysts expected, while it also gave a better-than-expected forecast for revenue in the current quarter.

Other tech stocks leading the market included Advanced Micro Devices, up 8.1%, and Intel, up 7.4%.

Smaller companies can feel even bigger relief from lower yields than their bigger rivals because many need to borrow to grow. The Russell 2000 index of the smallest U.S. stocks jumped 2.6%, more than double the gain of the S&P 500, which measures the biggest U.S. stocks.

Also helping to drive the market was the company behind TJ Maxx, Marshalls and other stores, which climbed 5.7% after delivering stronger profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. TJX’s CEO, Ernie Herrman, said the current quarter is off to a good start, and the off-price retailer raised its forecasts for revenue and profit this year.

Red Robin Gourmet Burgers jumped 18.2%, and Cava Group rose 3.1% following their own better-than-expected profit reports. Such results raise hopes that households can keep spending and supporting the economy, even though they’re contending with high gasoline prices and widespread discouragement about economic conditions.

Most big U.S. companies have likewise reported better profits for the start of 2026 than analysts expected, which has helped stocks run to records. Stock prices tend to follow the path of corporate profits over the long term.

On the losing side of Wall Street was Target, which fell 3.9% even though the retailer reported better profit and revenue for the latest quarter than analysts expected. A new CEO, Michael Fiddelke, is trying to turn around the company and boost its revenue.

Expectations were high for the company’s performance after Target’s stock came into the day with a gain of more than 30% for the year so far, quadruple the S&P 500’s gain.

All told, the S&P 500 rose 79.36 points to 7,432.97. The Dow Jones Industrial Averae jumped 645.47 to 50,009.35, and the Nasdaq composite rallied 399.65 to 26,270.36.

In stock markets abroad, indexes climbed in Europe following weaker finishes across Asia.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 fell 1.2% as the yield on the 10-year Japanese government bond slipped but remained near its highest level since 1997.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Options trader Chris Dattolo works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Michael Pistillo. Left, and trader Fred's Demarco work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Monday, May 18, 2026, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Currency traders watch monitors near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), right, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders watch monitors at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A currency trader talks on the phone near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, left, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)