In brief: airport operations in Argentina

Airports

Who owns the airports?

Section 25 of the Argentine Aeronautical Code (AAC) establishes that airports may be publicly or privately owned. Public airports are the ones used for a public purpose. The others are private. A public airport may be granted as a concession to private entities at public auction.

What system is there for the licensing of airports?

The licences are granted by the executive power by means of public auction.

Is there a system of economic regulation of airports? How does it function?

For airports that have been privatised, the terms and conditions of the concession are to be complied with by the concessionaire. Such terms and conditions require the concessionaire, among other obligations, to pay a fee and to make certain investments in each of the privatised airports. Some concessionaires must pay a fixed fee and others pay a percentage of the income they receive.

Investments, control and planning of the privatised airports must be regularly reported to the Regulatory Agency for the National System of Airports (ORSNA) for approval.

Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 (AA 2000) is the current concessionaire of 33 airports of the National Airport System, including Ministro Pistarini, Ezeiza Airport and Jorge Newbery Airfield, serving Buenos Aires. This concession contract was renegotiated in 2007 as set forth in Executive Decree 1799/2007. Under the negotiated terms, AA 2000 has the obligation to invest in the airport but not to pay a fee. This concession is controlled by the ORSNA.

Are there laws or rules restricting or qualifying access to airports?

Many investments will be made by forming a trust. The airport concessionaire may assign part of the airport fees and taxes to a fiduciary trustee to permit new construction.

Decree 114/2018 instructs the Ministry of Transport to carry out a survey of the need for works and interventions for the extension of territorial limits of member airports of the national airport system (SNA) to manage the increase in national and international aviation demand. This decree also established that ORSNA is in charge of the expansion planning works at SNA member airports and determination of the development of works and expansion interventions that must be carried out in places adjacent to the territorial limits at airport or concession areas corresponding to the aforementioned airports. The Ministry of Transport acts as the enforcement authority to incorporate adjacent spaces into concession areas for the execution of works and interventions foreseen in previous ORSNA reports. Such incorporations will be made when the domain situation of the spaces involved allows the issue of a corresponding resolution.

How are slots allocated at congested airports?

National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) Resolution No. 180/2019 rules the allocations of slots.

Before a scheduled or non-scheduled commercial service is approved by the ANAC, the airport administrator and the Air Traffic Controller Service Provider must approve the slots.

There are no specific rules for congested airports.

Are there any laws or rules specifically relating to ground handling? What are they?

Article 10 of Decree 879/2021 repeals Decree 49/2019, which established that the ANAC will oversee the inspection of aircraft ground handling services (ramp services) at airports in the SNA and other airports under state jurisdiction.

Decree 879/2021 established that the Ministry of Transport will be in charge of the operation and organisation of the provision of ground services for aircraft at the airports and aerodromes of the National State or those under its administration.

Article 5 of Decree 879/2021 allow to domestic carriers to provide ground services to themselves.

Article 7 of Decree 879/2021 establish that the ANAC is in charge of the regulation, authorisation, supervision and determination of the bases and criteria for the calculation of fair, reasonable and competitive fares to be applied for aircraft ground handling services.

Who provides air traffic control services? And how are they regulated?

On 30 July 2015, Law No. 27.161 was published in the Argentine Public Gazette. This law creates a government agency with the purpose of providing air navigation services. The agency is Air Navigation Company Argentina (EANA), within the legal framework of the Ministry of Transport. This government agency provides services for commercial and civil navigation, as well as administration of air transit and air traffic control, administration of air traffic flow management, airspace management, aeronautical information services, aeronautical communication services, navigations and surveillance, aeronautical meteorological services, search and rescue, and the Airport Reservation Office.

EANA is a state-owned company and its shareholders are the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Defence. EANA is ruled by the legal norms and principles of private corporations.

The services provided by EANA are those that were provided by the Argentine Air Force (AAF), and its personnel and budget were transferred from the AAF to EANA.

In addition, the fees charged to users for the provision of services constitute, among other funds, EANA’s budget. According to Ministry of Transport Resolution No. 222/16, the service has been officially provided by EANA as of 1 August 2016. Law No. 27.445 establishes that the operational control functions, coordination and supervision of air control will be transferred to EANA as well as positions, personnel, budgetary credits and the administration of the goods affected to its use. EANA plans and elaborates everything related to airspace organisation, management, the flow of air traffic, air traffic services, and aeronautical information for its subsequent elevation to the ANAC, which supervises, publishes and redistributes such information in Argentina and to other countries. For its part, the ANAC provides auxiliary services to air navigation, and guarantees professional and technical training to EANA’s workers.