Argentina: Milei Signs Decree to Privatize National Airline

Aerolineas Argentinas is burdening the state coffers

Argentine President Javier Milei has signed a decree providing for the privatization of the national airline Aerolineas Argentinas. This is a step forward to a future sale to private individuals.

Manuel Adorni, a presidential spokesman, explained that “government subsidies to cover the company’s deficit have exceeded $8 billion since renationalization in 2008,” Reuters reported. In addition, Aerolineas Argentinas, Adorni said, currently has 1204 pilots operating 81 airplanes, which is nearly 15 pilots per airplane. The company has already cut 1500 employees in recent months.

Large-scale privatization was one of the stated strengths of the “Milei recipe,” and in this particular case the process was accelerated after the recent failure to reach an agreement with the unions, which staged a long series of strikes in September.

Privatizing the company, according to the government, is a necessity given the state of Argentina’s finances. “The state is unable to maintain a company whose accounts are in deficit, spending hundreds of millions of pesos coming from the endeavors of citizens,” the decree said. Now it is up to Parliament to have the final say on the company’s future; Congress has already opposed the president’s plans in the past. The privatization of Aerolineas Argentinas was also contemplated in the omnibus law, but was later dropped (along with other provisions) in order to get approval.