Buenos Aires governor looks to fight Milei over airline sale

Province of Buenos Aires Governor Axel Kicillof said he would try to block any federal government efforts to sell or shut down the loss-making national carrier, Aerolineas Argentinas SA. President Javier Milei is looking to push a bill through congress that would clear the way to the airline’s privatization, part of his plans to shrink the size of the state in the debt-ridden nation. “If the country proposes to sell the airline’s shares, transfer it to the workers, declare it bankrupt or dissolve it, we will prevent it as far as possible,” Kicillof told reporters Monday. Milei and his team want to revamp an airline industry plagued by labor strikes and high costs, which pushed the operating deficit at Aerolineas Argentinas to 264.5b pesos ($267.6m) in the first half of the year, according to a bill in congress. The airline has disputed those figures, saying it was only $79m in the red between January and July. Kicillof said that he is ready to rally the support of other Argentine governors to support the carrier, pointing out that Aerolineas Argentinas flies to destinations within the country that other airlines would deem “unprofitable.”<br/>