Buenos Aires Herald 
Pilots union APLA (Airline Pilots Association) warned on Monday of potential mass flight cancellations during Argentina’s winter break, which is scheduled for July 21 to August 1 in Buenos Aires City.
According to a union statement posted on X, several commercial airlines have not been able to confirm their flight schedules yet, as they have been unable to enforce a government decree that reduces resting times for flight crews and raises the cap on maximum flight time allowed.
“They tried to adapt it from the United States regulations, and they did it very poorly, and it’s unenforceable,” a spokesperson from APLA told the Herald on Monday.
He gave the example of a regulation that permits pilots to fly for a determined amount of time depending on the flight departure time or if the plane has a rest seat that accommodates certain standards. However none of the planes currently have this seat, so in order to comply airlines would have to redesign and engineer a whole new type of rest seat.
“It’s very harmful to pilots — it cuts down on vacation time, reduces rest periods, and in terms of key definitions, there are a ton of changes that make the whole thing unworkable.”
According to APLA, the regulation is being imposed without consultation, and is illegitimate and illegal. The union plans to challenge it in court.
Earlier in June, APLA’s strike action caused masses of delays and cancellations at Argentina’s main international airport at Ezeiza. Aerolineas Argentinas, the country’s flag carrier, said that the strike would bring them an estimated loss of US $1.1 million.
Additional reporting by Judith Morales Del Barco
