258 Flights Grounded: Argentina’s Unions Strike Again, This Time on a Wider Front

The Argentina CGT strike on Thursday comes at an unusual moment: the labor reform that triggered the February walkout has since been frozen by a federal court. The unions are striking anyway — and the demands have grown.

Argentina’s Confederación General del Trabajo confirmed a 24-hour general Argentina CGT strike for Thursday, April 10, paralyzing transport, flights, banking, public administration, and schools across the country. All 12 aviation unions — including APLA (pilots), APA (ground crew), AAA (cabin crew), UPSA (senior staff), and ATEPSA (air traffic control) — have confirmed their participation, ensuring a total shutdown of air operations. The Jurca airline chamber estimates that more than 450 flights will be canceled across all carriers, affecting over 70,000 passengers industry-wide.

The Flight Impact

Aerolíneas Argentinas confirmed 258 flight cancellations: 216 domestic, 25 regional, and 17 international long-haul. The airline estimated a $3 million economic loss and said it would deduct the day’s pay from striking employees. Fourteen international flights were rescheduled outside the strike window to reroute stranded transit passengers through alliance partners. The disruption comes as the state carrier simultaneously closes ticket offices in three cities as part of an ongoing restructuring under Milei’s austerity program.

International carriers are caught in the stoppage because Intercargo — the state-owned company providing ramp services at all Argentine airports — has joined the walkout. KLM canceled its Buenos Aires flight entirely. Air France will reschedule. Air Canada pushed its Toronto–São Paulo–Ezeiza service to Friday. Copa Airlines canceled all April 10 operations, offering rebooking through April 30. American Airlines said it planned to operate its full schedule but warned of “expected delays.” LATAM warned of cancellations and schedule alterations across its Argentine network.

Why They’re Striking After the Court Win

The February 19 general strike was explicitly tied to the labor reform bill being debated in Congress that same day. That law passed — but a federal judge subsequently suspended 82 of its 218 articles, including virtually every provision unions opposed: restrictions on the right to strike, modifications to collective bargaining, and the controversial sick-pay clause that would halve wages during non-work-related illness. The government is appealing, but the reform remains frozen.

Thursday’s strike broadens the fight. The CGT’s formal demands now include free collective bargaining (paritarias libres) without government wage caps, an emergency increase for pensioners whose benefits have eroded under inflation, and reactivation of public works that the Milei government suspended as part of its fiscal consolidation. The shift from a single-issue labor reform protest to a multi-front economic platform signals that unions see the court victory as insufficient — and that they intend to use the strike weapon against the broader austerity agenda ahead of October’s general elections.

The Economic Backdrop

The strike lands at a moment of contradictory economic signals. Inflation has fallen from 211% in 2023 to roughly 24% projected for 2026. The government achieved consecutive fiscal surpluses for the first time since 2008. But an estimated 21,900 companies have closed since Milei took office, manufacturing has contracted for six consecutive months, and approximately 290,000 formal jobs have been lost. Unions frame the strike as a response to an economy that works for financial markets but not for workers.

For Milei, the calculus is different. Each strike that fails to dislodge the government’s economic program reinforces the narrative that unions are fighting yesterday’s battles. His party won a midterm landslide in 2025, and his approval rating — while volatile — has held above the CGT’s capacity to convert economic pain into sustained political opposition. The question Thursday is not whether the country shuts down — it will — but whether the broader platform can unite enough of the electorate to matter in October.

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