January 26, 2016
Striking aviation workers forced LATAM Airlines to ground flights out of Buenos Aires' Ezeiza Airport on Tuesday.
The workers, who belong to Argentina's Union of Commercial Airline Senior and Professional Personnel (UPSA), walked out over stalled pay negotiations, state-run news agency Telam reported.
An online departure board on the website of airport operator Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 showed disruption to three flights from Buenos Aires to Chile, Peru and Ecuador.
Local TV showed snaking queues in the Ezeiza check-in hall and passengers were advised to contact the company.
Labour relations are prickly in Argentina, where unions routinely butt heads with private companies and the government over the scale of pay rises.
In a separate dispute, 12 days ago Argentina's government ordered pilots from the Argentine unit of Chile-headquartered LATAM back to work and for wage talks to resume.
Telam cited UPSA press secretary Marcelo Ulrich as saying those mandatory talks did not apply to his union's pay row.
LATAM operates TAM in Brazil and LAN Airlines in Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru and Colombia. LAN Argentina's domestic flights were not affected by Tuesday's strike.
(Reuters)