Argentina transport sector totters

Don’t cry for me, Argentina. Cry instead for your broken down transportation sector. It was just yesterday that the world was treated to images of massive riots at the railroad station in Buenos Aires, which were sparked by insufferable delays in service. Less well known, but even more worrisome, are the troubles with the nation’s air safety system. According to the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations and the International Federation of Airline Pilots’ Associations, Argentina’s failure to fix its only certified radar is putting airplanes at high risk — a “careless abandonment” of standard air safety procedures that has led to five near in-air collisions since 9 March.

The radar in question was damaged recently in a lightening storm, but concerns came to a head bacck in August, when a documentary was released that detailed repeated failure in the country’s air traffic control system, including broken equipment and undertrained employees. “Air safety is compromised here today,” said Cesar Salas of the Agrentine flight-controllers association. “The problem is this is a system that’s collapsed. There’s no plan, and there’s no effort to make the improvements that are necessary.” Much of the problem, say experts, can be traced to a booming travel industry in Argentina which boosted international flights 68 percent between 2003 and 2005 alone. Take-offs at Ezeiza airport are now limited to one every ten minutes.