Transport workers are carrying out a 24-hour strike on Wednesday that affects trains, subways, planes, ships, and truck transportation services in Argentina. Bus services are functioning as their union decided not to join the national strike but will carry out their own stoppage on Thursday.

Due to the strike, all flights to and from Aeroparque Jorge Newbery have either been canceled or transferred to the Ezeiza airport. Long lines could be seen at bus stops across all Buenos Aires, the only form of public transport working on Wednesday.

The government was once again very critical of the strike. Transport Secretary Franco Mogetta said in an interview with La Nación+ channel that union leaders “mistreat workers by not letting them get to work to earn every day’s bread” and that “it’s not even a protest, it’s a political strike.” He described the stoppage as “a boicot against the state that costs US$150 million.”

The Milei administration even resorted to using official communication channels to bash union leaders. On Tuesday night, users of Mi Argentina — a state-owned app that lets users carry their digital IDs and documentation on their phones — received a notification with a message titled “Union leaders don’t let you get to work.”

The message, which was also seen on train stations’ schedule billboards, directly mentioned truck drivers union leaders Hugo and Pablo Moyano, as well as pilots union leader Pablo Biró, saying they promoted the strike to “protect their privileges.” 

It also said that if citizens were being forced to join the strike, they should call 134, a Security Ministry line originally destined to report federal crimes such as drug trafficking and sexual exploitation. This year, Minister Patricia Bullrich relaunched it as a line to report threats to join strikes or attend protests.

The strike was announced by the National Transportation Table, which brings together the most important unions in the sector, on October 8. Bus union UTA will meet with representatives of transport companies on Wednesday, and the potential outcome could be a cancelation of their Thursday strike if they arrive to an agreement.

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Flights in Argentina

Most domestic flights, and some international, have been affected by the strike. There are no flights to or from Aeroparque Jorge Newbery airport in Buenos Aires City. All departures and arrivals have been canceled or transferred to the Ministro Pistarini airport in Ezeiza.

Aerolíneas Argentinas canceled 263 flights, affecting a total of 27,700 passengers, most of them with domestic flights reservations. The company has relocated them in new or existing flights. International flights to Madrid, Miami, Punta Cana and Rome are the only ones that were rescheduled to avoid cancelations.

Passengers were notified about the cancelations or flight reschedules and can request a new date free of charge within the 15 days after the strike either through the Aerolíneas Argentinas website, or the travel agency where they bought their tickets.

JetSmart, Flybondi, and American Airlines are operating through Ezeiza after transferring operations from Aeroparque. Aerolíneas Argentinas, Latam, and Gol flights appear as canceled in Aeroparque.

JetSmart’s 55 Wednesday flights are operating according to schedule at Ezeiza, except for a few that had to be rescheduled. Flybondi had to cancel 8 flights and reschedule others, representatives from both companies told the Herald.

Flybondi passengers whose flights were canceled or rescheduled to depart over four hours later than their original schedule can request a new flight date free of charge on their website. JetSmart passengers can also change their flights scheduled for Wednesday or request a refund.

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All flight status can be consulted at the airport operator Aeropuertos Argentina’s website or the airlines’ website.

Other unions are also on strike on Wednesday in solidarity with transport workers, and voicing their own demands. This includes public schools and universities staff, who have been demanding higher budget and salaries for months.

The State Workers Association (ATE) also went on strike on Tuesday at noon and will continue until Wednesday at midnight. Among ATE’s members are workers linked to state transport regulation and security. These are administrative workers, and their protest will not directly affect public transportation.

The Popular Economy Workers Union (UTEP) is also backing the strike and set up an outdoors soup kitchen in front of the Constitución train station along with other unions.