(Bloomberg) -- President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador inaugurated a state-run airline led by Mexico’s military, the latest in a series of costly projects sponsored by the populist leader in the run-up to presidential elections next year.

Mexicana de Aviacion, named after what was once a state-run airline that ceased operations in 2010, had on Tuesday a inaugural flight intended to connect the nation’s capital to Tulum, a popular beach destination in the country’s southeast. 

The company will initially serve 14 destinations and gradually add domestic routes. It is forecast to lose more than 2.3 billion pesos ($136 million) between 2024 and 2029, and will be financed by public money, daily El Financiero reported, citing official plans to which it had access.  

The Finance Ministry and the Defense Ministry did not respond to requests for comment on Mexicana’s financial plans.

“This airline will be managed by the Olmeca-Maya-Mexica company that will administer airports, trains, especially the Maya Train,” AMLO, as the president is known, said at a press briefing, referring to some of the major infrastructure projects of his government. He added that complementary companies will also manage hotels and ecological parks. 

In the rush to finish his flagship projects before the end of his term in 2024, Lopez Obrador has planned a burst of public spending that will result in a fiscal deficit equivalent to 4.9% of gross domestic product next year. He has inaugurated several unfinished works, including part of the Maya tourist train whose stations are still under construction. In 2022, he flew to the Dos Bocas refinery in Tabasco for a grand opening a year before the facility started producing fuel.

The political maneuvering has tainted his reputation as one of Latin America’s more austere leaders.

Flight Rerouted

Mexicana’s first flight didn’t make it to its final destination. It landed instead in the city of Merida in the neighboring Yucatan state due to “adverse conditions,” the airline said in a statement. 

The company said it would refuel before heading to Tulum once conditions improve, but it was an inauspicious start for an airline attempting to revive a brand that has been off travelers’ schedules for years.

The air carrier kicked off operations with five planes, and it’s in talks with Boeing Co. over the possibility of buying additional ones in 2024, according to Defense Secretary Luis Sandoval. The government has touted the company as a budget option.

Mexicana de Aviacion stopped flights in 2010, and the government bought rights to the name amid bankruptcy proceedings. Initial destinations will include the states of Baja California, Nuevo Leon and Yucatan. 

Read More: AMLO’s Mexicana Airline Has No Jets or Schedule Ahead of Launch

--With assistance from Scott Squires.

(Recasts story with information about Mexicana’s financing needs, adds detail aboout inaugural flight being rescheduled.)

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