MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ramp handling company out, Aerolíneas Argentinas might follow suit

No more blackmailing the government for Intercargo

The Aerolíneas Argentinas pilots agreed not to stage any further strikes as long as wage negotiations with the Argentine government keep going on, pilots union leader
Mateo Ferreira told reporters after Friday's meeting. “We are reassuring passengers that at least the pilots' union will not take measures of force,” he stressed. If no arrangement is reached, “a crisis procedure” would be set in motion, whereby “the arbitrator is the Labor Secretary,” he also explained.

 President Javier Milei insisted earlier Friday that he was looking forward to a proposal that would fulfil his expectations. Otherwise, he would cut all state funcing to the carrier and even shut it down if need be. According to Casa Rosada sources, the Argentine “State does not put any more money for Aerolíneas Argentinas to work.” The message is clear: “Normalization or closure.” The Aerol{ineas pilots collective bargaining agreement's “enormous” perks other workers do not have are to be reviewed.

The Libertarian Government also announced the deregulation of the ramp service at airports, thus resulting in the demise of the company Intercargo, which has so many times been involved in flights delays and cancellations, not to mention the occasional mysterious disappearance of the passengers' luggage. In the recent conflict, 15 Intercargo workers were laid off for staging strikes that kept aircraft on the tarmac with passengers onboard and unable to deplane.

Regarding Aerolíneas' privatization, the possibility seems a long shot, with no potential buyer in sight. A compromise solution would be to place it under someone else's administration without the need to actually purchase it, it was explained in Buenos Aires.

“No union terrorist will be able to take a passenger hostage again and ruin their trip, nor refuse to do their job,” Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni said when announcing “the end of Intercargo.”

In the meantime, Airport Security Police (PSA) will handle baggage loading and unloading in Buenos Aires' Aeroparque Jorge Newbery until a new licensee is appointed. “Obviously Intercargo is over,” Milei underlined Friday from Casa Rosada. In the meantime, staff downsizings in Aerolíneas are not to be ruled out.

During an appearance at a school Friday morning, Milei said that the way out was “working and not extorting” both the government abd the travelers. “Extortion is over in our country,” Milei highlighted.

Through Resolution 326/2024 published in the Official Gazette, the National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC), approved the new “Regulations for obtaining the Ground Handling Certificate”, for those companies that want to provide ramp or handling services, which in practical terms, represents Intercargo's demise.