Leaders of the three main unions that group workers of flag carrier Aerolíneas Argentinas reached an agreement with company management regarding wage increases and union benefits that would put a stop to airport strikes.

Sources close to the matter confirmed the news to the Herald, calling the agreement “preliminary.” This means that the matters under discussion still need to be approved by union members in order to be made effective.

Aerolíneas Argentinas representatives met with union leaders from the Aeronautical Staff Association (APA, by its Spanish initials), the Airline Pilots Associacion (APLA) and the Crewmembers Argentine Association (AAA) on Tuesday. The intense negotiations went on until early Wednesday.

The agreement appears to put an end to months of tension between unions, Aerolíneas Argentinas management, and the government. President Javier Milei has attempted to privatize Aerolíneas Argentinas several times since taking office last December. Workers have carried out over a dozen strikes protesting this decision, as well as demanding higher salaries after months of frozen wages.

Tension reached boiling point last week when public company Intercargo — which provides ramp operation services for most airlines in Argentina — carried out a surprise six-hour long strike to protest an “arbitrary layoff.” The protest temporarily prevented passengers from stepping on and off planes at the Aeroparque Jorge Newbery airport in Buenos Aires City and Ministro Pistarini airport in Ezeiza.

The government ended up firing 15 Intercargo workers and filing a criminal complaint against the company and APA for “kidnapping” the passengers who were not able to leave the airplanes after their flights had already landed. Milei later said Interargo would cease to exist.

Unions agreed not to strike while negotiations are underway with the government after meeting with officials on Friday. Press reports stated that the government gave them an ultimatum to put an end to stoppages or they would start procedures to shut down Aerolíneas Argentinas. Unions, however, denied this had happened and stated that negotiations were being carried out freely.

According to media reports, the agreement between Aerolíneas Argentinas and the unions includes a pay rise in exchange for changes to certain union benefits. These include free business tickets for pilots and close family members, free private transportation for pilots between their homes and the airport, and whether their working hours also count commute time.

A communiqué published by APLA hours after midnight on Wednesday said negotiations were underway and would likely go on until the early hours of Wednesday. The text was reposted by AAA on their social media on Wednesday at 11 a.m., but the union also shared the link to a story by local union news outlet Sonido Gremial which confirmed there was an agreement.

The article said that negotiations only involved discussing the salary increase and did not include talks of privatizing, closing, or selling Aerolíneas Argentinas. It added that details about the negotiation will be released on Thursday, after the union assemblies approve the pact.

Meanwhile, a union that groups air controllers and is not part of these negotiations announced a round of staggered strikes to be carried out throughout November. ATEPSA’s strikes will affect:

• International flights on Saturday, November 16, from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.
• General aviation flights (private or recreational) and those from non-scheduled airlines on Monday, November 18, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• All flights on Wednesday, November 20, from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
• All flights on Friday, November 22, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.