By Kylie Madry
MEXICO&nbsp;CITY (Reuters) -&nbsp;Mexico&nbsp;is likely to hand over&nbsp;control&nbsp;of the&nbsp;capital's main&nbsp;airport&nbsp;- the busiest in the country - to&nbsp;its&nbsp;navy, according to a draft decree published on Tuesday, in what would be the latest step increasing the military's role in the sector.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has touted the armed forces' involvement in aviation, arguing it has reduced drug trafficking and smuggling out of&nbsp;airports.
The&nbsp;Mexico&nbsp;City International&nbsp;Airport&nbsp;(AICM) currently sits&nbsp;under the transportation ministry, though the&nbsp;navy&nbsp;has already taken over security operations, including customs. Former&nbsp;navy&nbsp;pilot Carlos Velazquez was appointed as&nbsp;its&nbsp;top director last year.
"There's more security, more certainty, the rules are followed better, there's more discipline," with the&nbsp;navy&nbsp;in charge of the&nbsp;airport, Velazquez told reporters on Tuesday.
The draft decree must be published in&nbsp;Mexico's official gazette to take effect.
Velazquez said that authorities were working to make sure the AICM, also known as Benito Juarez, would be able to take advantage of the funds generated from the&nbsp;airport-use tax.
The money currently goes to a fund to pay off bondholders who financed the construction of an&nbsp;airport&nbsp;canceled by Lopez Obrador in favor of building the Felipe Angeles&nbsp;airport&nbsp;on the outskirts of the&nbsp;capital.
The little-used, one-year-old Felipe Angeles&nbsp;airport, one of the president's largest public works projects, is also on an active military base.
In May, the AICM moved nearly 4 million passengers, according to data from the national aviation authority, while Felipe Angeles&nbsp;airport's passenger numbers were almost 95% lower.
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(Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Jamie Freed)

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Mexico proposes handing control of capital airport to its navy