Hundreds of flights were cancelled or rescheduled on Wednesday in Argentina as aviation workers called a 24-hour strike in demand of better pay.
Airlines were forced to reschedule hundreds of flights at Ezeiza International and Jorge Newbery airports as a result.
Three groups – Asociación del Personal Aeronáutico (APA), Pilotos de Líneas Aéreas (APLA), la Unión del Personal Superior y Profesional de Empresas Aerocomerciales (UPSA) – walked off the job after deeming a 12-percent wage re-composition offer presented by companies in the sector insufficient.
Inflation in January was 20.6 percent and year-to-year inflation is over 254 percent, according to government data.
The union action affected state airline Aerolíneas Argentinas, the local flagship carrier, the most but air traffic for all firms were affected. Departure and arrival destinations were modified while some flights were cancelled entirely.
In the case of Aerolíneas Argentinas, the strike forced the rescheduling of 330 flights, which affects “nearly 24,000 passengers, out of which 18,000 are from domestic flights, 3,000 from regional flights and a further 3,000 from international flights,” a press release stated.
Only American Airlines and low-cost Flybondi were in operation at Ezeiza, with other carriers affected by the decision of workers at the Intercargo firm to join the action.
Aeroparque Jorge Newbery airport in the capital was entirely shut down.
“We had flights scheduled today for Santiago, Chile for Aerolíneas Argentina. We came here and we find nothing," said Leonardo Torres, a Chilean tourist looking for information at the airport.
“Last night they let us know at 11.30pm by email, but we’re abroad and we don’t know what to do now,” he added.
Unions sid the walkout was communicated to firms well in advance, giving them sufficient time to reschedule flights, which most companies did.
“We were told there was a strike and nobody was flying out,” complained Angela Alaiaga, a Bolivian tourist who was meant to leave on Wednesday.
“We were given a code to communicate with Aerolíneas Argentinas, we tried to communicate but that code couldn’t be accessed, so we don’t know when we’re flying,” she said.
The two main low-cost companies operating in Argentina, FlyBondi and JetSmart, were forced to adapt to the conditions.
“Flybondi informs that it will move its entire operation for February 28 to Ezeiza international airport due to the strike announced by some aviation unions which, among other services, will affect the handling service,” read a press release.
JetSmart, in turn, offered to reschedule flights at no extra cost.
– TIMES/NA/AFP
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