The Mexican Senate has voted to amend the country's Foreign Investment Law which governs the percentage shareholding foreign investors can hold in local airlines.

Passed on December 15, 2016, the revision will increase the cap on foreign ownership of Mexican carriers, air taxis and other specialised air service providers, from the previous 25%, to 49%.

The amendment will be heard by the Mexican Chamber of Deputies for final approval when it resumes sitting in February 2017. As such, additional modifications are a possibility.

The move is expected to encourage foreign investment in the country's rapidly expanding aviation industry. Among the more imminent investments expected to benefit from the increase are Aeroméxico (AM, México City International) and Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) wherein the US carrier has expressed a strong desire to bump its stake in the Mexican operator to 49%. In tandem to that, Brazil's Synergy Group, parent firm to Colombia's Avianca Holdings, announced in November, plans to acquire up to 49% of Aeromar Airlines (México City International). It will initially acquire 25% of the Mexican carrier's voting shares with 24% of its regular shares to follow.

Local budget carrier, Interjet (AIJ, Toluca), also announced in October 2016, that it, too, was in talks with unspecified foreign firms over a partnership agreement that could eventually lead to the sale of equity.