Government Has Attempted To Take Over LAN Hangar At Buenos Aires' Downtown Airport

A row appears to be developing between LATAM Airlines Group, the parent of LAN Airline, and the government of Argentina over a hangar at downtown Aeroparque Jorge Newbery in Buenos Aires.

The government says taking over the hangar, on which LATAM group says it has invested $5 million and pays $20,000 a month in rent, is "in the national interest." The government has been encouraging LATAM to move domestic LAN flights out of the downtown airport to the international airport in Ezeiza, a suburb of Buenos Aires. LATAM officials say that the government is trying to squeeze them out of routes from the Aeroparque in favor of the government-owned Aerolineas Argentinas, and have threatened to cancel domestic service to the city, according to a report appearing in USA Today.

LATAM says that asking potential customers to travel to Ezeiza could add hours to any trip they might be making, which is particularly unattractive on short-haul domestic flights. The government says it is not asking LAN not to operate flights from the Aeroparqe, but that it "needs" the hangar for unspecified reasons. Government officials say LAN's threat to cancel domestic flights from the downtown airport is designed to "stir up popular sentiment" against the government and its airline for "a decision they don't like.”

Agustin Agraz, a spokesman for LAN, said that the airline will fight the decision in court.

FMI: www.latamairlinesgroup.net