Overview
- ATE, which had planned a 24-hour stoppage for Thursday, limited the action to assemblies from 5 to noon and kept aviation weather reporting and flights running under safety rules.
- The Ministry of Defense confirmed on Wednesday that 140 SMN employees were dismissed, a move that triggered the protest and remains the central union complaint.
- A new rule known as Decree 274/26 lets the air navigation company EANA provide aviation meteorology and hire outside suppliers, with SMN continuing to serve EANA for up to 180 business days.
- Minister Federico Sturzenegger said on X that SMN has about 100 stations and 1,000 staff, claims the union disputed by citing 120 stations and warning the cuts threaten alerts, flights, waterways and farm work.
- Local stations have already felt the strain as sites in Santa Fe lost observers and cut night measurements, which can slow emergency flight planning and weaken early warning for severe weather.