The province of Neuquén repealed a decree that forced this department to purchase its air tickets exclusively from Aerolíneas Argentinas or the LADE airline of the Air Force.
Through another decree, 300/24, the government of
Rolando Figueroa
repealed the province's adherence to a 2012 decree by Cristina Kirchner.
That decree, 1191/12 signed by
Cristina Kirchner, Juan Manuel Abal Medina and Florencio Randazzo
remains in force to this day and establishes that the jurisdictions and entities of the National Public Sector included in article 8 of Law No. 24,156 (Central Administration and Decentralized Organizations, including the Social Security Institutions) "must
contract with Aerolíneas Argentinas and Austral the tickets they require for the transfer by air
,
both inside and outside the country,
of their officials, employees or advisors hired under any modality, or from third parties whose transfers they finance".
A year after that decree, in 2013, the Neuquén government headed by
Jorge Sapag
adhered to that norm on its own terms: through provincial decree 1111, it established the mandatory purchase of tickets by Aerolíneas and Austral and also incorporated Líneas State Air Forces (LADE), belonging to the Air Force, "if it provides them under conditions of manner, time and place in accordance with the official requirements."
That decree was repealed last week by Figueroa, who a year ago won the provincial elections and ended six decades of government by the Neuquén Popular Movement (MPN).
In his recitals, the current governor states that one of the reasons that justified Sapag's decision was that Aerolíneas and Austral "
were the only airline companies that operated in the two airports located in the Province of Neuquén,
which are included in the System National Airports". But that, currently, "the connectivity offer of the airlines that operate in the provincial airports has been expanded, including low-cost companies that, like the aforementioned, provide the services that the institutional activities may opportunely require" of the officials. .
Furthermore, it specifically adheres to the postulates on the subject of the national government, which through Decree 70 established an "open skies" policy for the commercial airline market.
Decree 300 states: "According to what was stated by the Ministry of Transportation of the Nation, the growth of the sector
is part of a new vision of commercial air transportation that seeks to encourage the participation of more companies in the Argentine skies to connect the country,
enhance the growth of the tourism economy and promote international connection."
Today both
Flybondi and JetSmart arrive with regular flights to the Patagonian province.
Until last week, no provincial state or national public administration body had questioned the validity of Cristina's decree. It also had no alterations during the four years of Mauricio Macri's administration.
Decree 70, currently in Congress, directly eliminates all the legal framework that supports the operation of Airlines, from laws that come from the 1960s (19,030) to all the regulations after the 2008 renationalization that obliges the State to maintain economically to the state airline. And it provides for the privatization of the airline.
But it is a rule that is not only in Congress to be dealt with by the Chamber of Deputies, but
is also pending regulation.
Until now, the only significant step had been taken by the airline itself, which canceled public officials' ability to accumulate mileage on an individual basis on tickets purchased from the State.