By Kylie Madry
MONTERREY, Mexico, July 9 (Reuters) - Vinci Airports, a subsidiary of France's VINCI Group, expects air traffic growth to slow through the end of the year as higher jet fuel prices and geopolitical tensions weigh on the aviation sector, though it is not seeing major airline capacity cuts and is still open to expansion in Mexico and elsewhere.
"For the first time, there is new volatility in different markets," Vinci Airports CEO Remi Maumon de Longevialle told Reuters during a visit to Mexico,
citing tensions in the Middle East and Asia. "Traffic growth may be a little bit lower than last year."
Maumon de Longevialle said the world's largest private airport operator had not seen "dramatic" changes in airline capacity, despite earlier fears in Europe and North America that carriers could alter schedules more sharply. Airlines were adjusting to fuel costs, he said, but not to a degree that should concern investors.
"It's fair to acknowledge that growth won't reach the same figures as the previous years," he said. "But there is no specific concern about airlines changing or adjusting dramatically capacities."
Still, Maumon de Longevialle said Mexico remained a long-term growth market for Vinci, which became the main shareholder in airport operator OMA nearly four years ago. He cited Mexico's domestic aviation market, Monterrey's role as a business hub and what he described as a stable concession framework.
OMA Chief Executive Ricardo Duenas said the company had invested 8 billion pesos ($456.41 million) in Monterrey over the last five years and planned to invest another 8 billion pesos over the next five years. Part of the airport's terminal expansion is expected to open by year-end, with further partial openings through the end of next year, he said.
Maumon de Longevialle also did not rule out further expansion.
"If there are new opportunities in Mexico, we could consider," he said, adding Vinci was also open to growth opportunities elsewhere.
($1 = 17.5280 Mexican pesos)
(Reporting by Kylie Madry in Mexico City and Jorge Lopez in Monterrey, Mexico; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
