Airport ‘Japanese-style’ strike may cause flight delays on Friday, union warns

Airport workers are staging a “Japanese-style” strike that could lead to flight delays and cancellations on Friday, according to the State Workers Association (ATE, by its Spanish initials).

The measures affect Ministro Pistarini International Airport in Ezeiza and Jorge Newbery Airport in Buenos Aires City, also known as Aeroparque. They are Argentina’s two largest airports.

Despite the union’s warnings, no delays or cancellations have been reported so far, a source at Aeropuertos 2000, the company operating the airports, told the Herald.

What is a ‘Japanese-style’ strike A “Japanese-style” strike involves workers continuing to perform their duties while strictly following established procedures and regulations. 

By applying these protocols to the letter, workers can slow down operations, extending the time needed for airport checks and other procedures and potentially causing flight disruptions.

The aim is to draw attention to the union’s demands without deliberately interrupting essential tasks, while also highlighting how funding cuts affect workers’ ability to carry out security procedures and technical protocols.

The protest began at 6 a.m. Friday and is primarily affecting ground control and administrative operations at the National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC, in Spanish), the state agency responsible for regulating commercial aviation. 

The action is being carried out by ANAC employees affiliated with ATE.

ATE members working at airports include healthcare workers, firefighters, inspectors, administrative staff and ground control personnel.

ATE announced that it would continue its protest measures from Monday through Friday next week. During that period, “there will be a work slowdown in firefighting services at all airports nationwide,” the union said in a statement.

Better salaries and working conditions The union is demanding “better wages and increased funding” for the airport services provided by its members.

The measures are intended to “draw attention to the lack of funding that ANAC workers have been suffering” and the loss of purchasing power resulting from a “freeze” on part of their salaries since the beginning of the year, ATE-ANAC leader Marcelo Belelli said in the statement.

The union has lodged complaints with international aviation organizations, arguing that the national government “needs to provide the resources necessary to ensure adequate working conditions and service delivery across all ANAC departments,” the statement said.

According to Belelli, ANAC is failing to comply with international recommendations on wages and staffing. “ANAC has revenue exceeding AR$220 billion (US$142 million), funds that must be urgently allocated to operational financing and wage increases for the agency’s workers,” he warned.