MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ezeiza “battle”

Dozens of former and active Aerolineas Argentinas staff members battled riot police in Ezeiza airport last Tuesday and Wednesday in an attempt to prevent Spanish airline Iberia flights from operating.

Staff are protesting Aerolíneas Argentinas Spanish owners decision to cancel flights to Europe following an Argentine government warning that if the company's flights to North and South America are not resumed, "the lines will be internationally auctioned".

The Aerolineas controversy has been ongoing over the last twelve months but reached chaotic proportion when Spanish owner SEPI, unveiled a few weeks ago a drastic plan to cut staff, salaries and flights to turn the 30 million US dollars per month loosing company into a profitable investment.

Aerolineas was privatized, free of all debts and with 31 new aircraft, a decade ago when it was sold to Iberia, the Spanish carrier belonging to the Spanish government through SEPI, an industrial reconstruction consortium.

However, Aerolíneas staff and members of the Argentine Congress now claim that Iberia has systematically downgraded the Argentine carrier, selling its best aircraft, handing most profitable lines to Iberia with the purpose of endangering its existence, "a similar process to Viasa, a Venezuelan company Iberia also purchased in the early nineties which now longer exists".

SEPI has promised fresh money for Aerolíneas once its drastic cuts plan is approved by all unions.

When the airline unions began protesting and occupying Aeroparque and Ezeiza the Argentine government was forced to intervene.

So far the Argentine Labour Ministry has been unable to convince the unions to fully return to work and SEPI to advance the promised money in spite of direct government to government contacts.

Aerolíneas staff have promised to continue protests in Ezeiza that have considerably delayed international air traffic, particularly Iberia, forcing many flights to divert to Carrasco Airport in Montevideo. Tuesday and Wednesday Iberia flights had to leave Ezeiza empty.

Argentine Congress is also preparing to name a special committee to investigate the Aerolineas privatization process and to check if both sides effectively honored their part of the deal. Meantime a boycott of Spanish companies and products is underway in Argentina with strong backing from local artists and singers who are collecting money for the air unions in conflict.

However the Sp