Pilot union assemblies cause flight delays in Argentine capital

Argentina’s two main pilots unions held assemblies on Thursday that caused more than 10 flight delays at airports in Buenos Aires, sources from the Airline Aviators Union (UALA) said.

The assemblies called by the UALA and the Association of Airline Pilots (APLA) ended at around 8 am and the pilots resumed their normal activities, although between 10 and 15 flights were delayed, according to union sources.

The meetings followed the government’s decision on Wednesday to repeal a controversial resolution that would have made it easier for national airlines to hire foreign pilots.

Local pilots had announced they would hold a two-day strike starting Thursday to protest the resolution but later canceled the planned job action.

Now that the resolution has been repealed, the pilots unions consider the situation to be resolved for the time being and have ruled out calling any new protests or strikes, UALA sources told EFE.

Buenos Aires airports resumed their normal activity after the assemblies concluded, and it is expected that the roughly 96,000 passengers who had tickets for flights scheduled on Thursday and Friday (the days the strike was to have been held) will be able to travel.