The controversy surrounding the LATAM flight between Punta Arenas (Chile) and the Malvina Islands, which is making a temporary stopover once a month in Ushuaia but omits the official name of its International Airport : "Malvinas Argentinas" , took a new turn . And it is that, through his X account, the governor of Tierra del Fuego, Gustavo Melella , said he had sent a formal note to the airline , in what seems to represent a first concrete action after issuing an ultimatum without effect, more than a week ago. But the lack of publication of the content of that letter continues to generate doubts about the true political will of the Tierra del Fuego government .

I have sent a formal note to @LATAMAirlines rejecting its unacceptable decision to omit the official name "Ushuaia Malvinas Argentinas International Airport."

On September 18 , Melella posted the letter on his social media accounts, calling LATAM 's decision "unacceptable" and an act that violates "the identity, history, and consensus of the entire Argentine people." In his tweet, the Tierra del Fuego governor doubled down, threatening to request that the National Civil Aviation Administration (ANAC) revoke the company's authorization to operate in the province if it does not rectify its position.

Melella plays hide-and-seek before revealing his actions.

Despite the forcefulness of his public statements, the governor's announcement has not been accompanied by the release of the note, which, due to its public interest, should be fully available for reading.

Specifically, the provincial government does not show or prove the existence of this document, despite the four requests made by Agenda Malvinas to know exactly who it was addressed to, what it specifically claimed, whether the note was sent to an Argentine subsidiary, to the board of directors or to the general management of the company, in the place on the planet where it is domiciled .

This lack of information contrasts with the seriousness of the offense, which, as Melella himself pointed out, is an affront to national sovereignty.

The Tierra del Fuego government's silence on the details of its official actions, after last week's strong rhetoric, raises a clear question about the seriousness of its ultimatum and the forcefulness of the provincial government's response to a company that, according to its systems, continued to use the official name of Ushuaia International Airport, "Malvinas Argentinas," as of last night, imposed by the British colony that usurps our islands .

From local indignation to state policy

The controversy, which erupted when the LATAM flight between Punta Arenas (Chile) and the Malvina Islands began operating in Ushuaia due to construction work on the runway at Río Gallegos Airport, has continued to escalate. From the condemnation of Mayor Walter Vuoto to the return trip of a contingent of war veterans and family members on the controversial flight last week, the issue has mobilized society.

But the culmination, and what demonstrates the significance of the conflict, is the presentation of a draft resolution in the Chamber of Deputies of the Nation . Representative Carolina Yutrovic , with the support of 19 parliamentarians, seeks to have the National Executive Branch take action in the matter, elevating the dispute from a provincial level to a matter of State policy at the highest level. The legislative initiative repudiates the airline's omission, arguing that allowing it amounts to a "setback in our strategy of sovereign reaffirmation" and an "aggravation to the history and memory of those who defended the territorial integrity of the Nation."

The conflict now centers on two fronts: the need for transparency from the provincial government once and for all, to demonstrate that its response to LATAM is as firm as its words, and the company's response to the pressure that could be exerted by intervention by the National Parliament .