The cancellation of a LATAM flight scheduled to stop in Ushuaia, initially attributed to strong winds, has revealed a deeper controversy: the airline's decision to take sides in the diplomatic dispute over the sovereignty of the Malvina Islands . The company has opted to comply with a demand from the British colonial state, refusing to recognize the official name of Ushuaia International Airport: "Malvinas Argentinas."

This fact goes far beyond a simple logistical omission. It demonstrates how a commercial company decides to align itself with a de-Malvinization policy, prioritizing the will of the colonial authorities over the sovereignty of the country in which it operates.

Symbolic sovereignty ignored

The use of proper names for airports is a global practice. From John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, to Ministro Pistarini Airport in Ezeiza, all airlines respect the full names of their destinations. However, in the case of Ushuaia International Airport, LATAM has decided to break with this rule.

Note that on its own website, the LATAM flight has as its destination the name that the colony gives to the NATO airport in Mount Pleasant, in deference to the "Malvinas Islands" which is only referred to as Ushuaia.

On its global web platform, the airline refuses to disclose that the Ushuaia airport is called "Malvinas Argentinas." This decision, accepted by the company at the request of the colonial government, seeks to prevent flights to the islands from appearing to be linked to an airport that claims Argentine sovereignty . This is an act of symbolic violence that is clearly imposed on the national government and that of Tierra del Fuego , which this morning responded to this media outlet that: " If LATAM doesn't recognize the name of our airport, it can say goodbye to Ushuaia . "

Tomorrow the flight will go to Puerto Argentino.

After midday, Gustavo Melella told Agenda Malvinas that the flight's schedule information screens at Ushuaia Airport showed the destination "Malvinas Argentinas." "And tomorrow," Sunday, "directly to Puerto Argentino." This is obvious —first of all— given that it would have been outrageously incomprehensible that the airport authorities, or the airport itself, would have allowed the flight to appear on the screen as bound for Mount Pleasant or the Malvina Islands . Even so, it will be striking if the screen shows Puerto Argentino tomorrow, whose airport was used by Argentine troops in 1982 and decommissioned in 1985 for commercial operations with large aircraft.

Perhaps the governor will take a few hours to decide what to do about the company's attitude. Or perhaps he'll do nothing more than what he did, and the ultimatum: " If LATAM doesn't recognize the name of our airport, it can say goodbye to Ushuaia" was a thoughtless, opportunistic phrase at 7:21 this morning.

In any case, there's a question that resonates throughout the province: If the governor himself isn't capable of enforcing respect for the airport's official name in his own house , who governs? And, if so, what?