Argentina's airport system is heading towards a federal operational paralysis after the Association of State Workers (ATE) confirmed a general strike at the National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC). The strike will directly impact air traffic control, administration, and oversight services at all terminals nationwide, whether managed by Aeropuertos Argentinos or state-run, severely disrupting domestic and international flight operations. According to the union, this measure is not the result of an impulsive conflict escalation but a direct consequence of what they describe as a 'vacuum in mediation instances'. Throughout 2024, under the current administration, the aerocommercial sector endured a series of partial strikes and assemblies, leading the government to declare the service 'essential', a decision still tied to judicial controversies over the right to strike. In 2025, the crisis at Intercargo, marked by surprise strikes in ramp and baggage services, led to a restructuring of the ground services system and deepened tensions between state unions and official transport areas. To this was added the persistent uncertainty over the future of Aerolíneas Argentinas, which acted as a catalyst for coordinating strike actions among various sector unions, including ATE-ANAC, to preserve labor stability across the aviation ecosystem. Preliminary estimates indicate the most severe impact of the strike will be during the morning hours on Monday, when the highest volume of domestic and international flights is concentrated. In this context, ATE-ANAC's General Secretary, Marcelo Belelli, stated that there was 'no call from the authorities to any dialogue space', a situation he says exhausted negotiation margins and moved the conflict into the realm of union action at the peak of the summer season. Belelli affirmed that the strike has been in effect since midnight on Monday and that the union organization has already notified airlines and the airport community to reschedule affected flights. Buenos Aires, February 7, 2026 - The Argentine airport system is heading towards a federal operational paralysis following the confirmation of a general strike by the Association of State Workers (ATE) at the National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC). The warning aims, according to the union, to reduce the impact on passengers and prevent an operational collapse in terminals during peak traffic hours. The core of the conflict centers on salary and labor demands. ATE-ANAC denounces the compulsory application of cuts on already settled wages, a practice the union considers a direct violation of previous collective bargaining agreements. The strike action will commence at 00:00 hours on Monday, February 10, and will last the entire day, after the advance notice deadline set by current regulations for essential services has expired. The decision was confirmed after an assembly at Ezeiza International Airport, where the union leadership decided to proceed with a total work stoppage due to the lack of formal negotiation instances with the National Executive Branch. With no last-minute signs of a call from the Ministry of Labor to dictate mandatory conciliation, uncertainty about air operations for the start of the next week continues to grow. This is compounded by the demand for an urgent salary adjustment to offset accumulated inflation, the restitution of unilaterally deducted amounts, and the implementation of concrete guarantees on operational safety conditions at airports. The union leadership also pointed to the Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation, Federico Sturzenegger, holding him responsible for an 'extreme intransigence' that would have blocked any progress at the dialogue tables and deepened the conflict in the aviation sector. The strike announced for Monday is part of a recurring context of conflict in Argentine civil aviation.
