Benito Juárez International Airport traces its roots to November 1928, when the site, then called Central Air Port, first opened for civilian use on the eastern edge of Mexico City. Regular commercial service followed in 1929, and the airport was officially inaugurated on May 15, 1931. Its current form took shape in 1952, when a modernist passenger terminal designed by architect Enrique Yáñez opened alongside a new runway and control tower. That terminal remains the core of Terminal 1 today.

The airport sits just 8 kilometers from Mexico City's historic center, within the urban fabric of the Venustiano Carranza borough. Its 2 parallel runways, designated 05L/23R and 05R/23L, are oriented southwest to northeast, meaning approach paths cut directly over the sprawling metropolis. At 7,320 feet above mean sea level, the airport's high-altitude environment affects aircraft performance year-round, requiring longer takeoff rolls and reducing payload capacity. It is one of the highest major commercial airports in the world. In 2006, the facility was officially renamed in honor of Benito Juárez, Mexico's 26th president.

Terminal 2 commenced operations on November 15, 2007, and was formally inaugurated on March 26, 2008. It is the primary hub for Aeroméxico and the SkyTeam alliance, while Terminal 1 hosts Volaris, Viva Aerobus, and a wide range of international carriers including American Airlines, Lufthansa, British Airways, and Emirates. The 2 terminals are linked by the Aerotrén, a 3-kilometer automated cable-propelled people mover. In July 2020, Terminal 2 gained an expansion, Pier L, an L-shaped addition with 7 contact gate positions. MEX handles routes to more than 100 destinations and is the busiest airport in Mexico.