MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Strike paralyzes Buenos Aires city airport

The unions said that they want the government to keep control of LAFSA instead of privatizing it and threatened more strikes during Easter next weekend, when the airports will be stuffed with thousands of tourists.

The demonstrators also called for the resignations of Transport Secretary Ricardo Jaime and Aviation Under-Secretary Ricardo Cirielli.

"The Transport Secretariat has been turned into a private store," said Deputy Alicia Castro, one of the leaders of the aeronautical workers. Another union leader, Miguel Pavano of the aeronautical mechanics' union, said that Jaime and Cirielli are conducting "a discriminatory policy" which seeks to benefit "their friends."

In the prospects of more protests during Easter, tourist and travel agencies urged the government "to get involved in the conflict" that could strand thousands of holiday-makers who have already paid for the air-tickets for the long weekend.

"Many people have already paid for their reservations of both tickets and accommodation at destination. Protests might affect travellers and regional economies that depend on tourism," said Tomás Ryan, head of the Travel Agencies Association.

On Friday, the government announced an agreement between LANChile, Southern Winds, and the state-run LAFSA airlines, which guarantees the continuity of the domestic and international SW service for the next 90 days, and the employment of the companies' staff, extensive to the 850 LAFSA employees.

President Néstor Kirchner's predecessor, interim president Eduardo Duhalde, created LAFSA in 2003 to hire the staff of two private airlines, Dinar and LAPA, which went bankrupt. LAFSA staff was last year employed by Southern Winds via a multi-million subsidy agreement with the government.