Mexican authorities deployed hundreds of officers to Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport on Wednesday, with riot police in helmets, shields, and batons taking up positions inside and outside the terminal ahead of the World Cup’s opening day.
The airport warned that entry would be restricted to ticketed passengers and essential companions, urging travellers to arrive early given the likelihood of protests in the surrounding area.
Security was also tightened around Azteca Stadium, where Mexico face South Africa in the tournament’s opening match on Thursday, following the opening ceremony.
The disruption threat comes from a hardline teachers’ union that has set up a protest camp in Zócalo, the central plaza in Mexico City where a fan festival had been planned. The union has erected road barriers and staged demonstrations across the capital, demanding the repeal of a 2007 pension law. The government has said the demand is not deliverable.
Whether the fan festival in Zócalo will go ahead remains unclear.
