It is just a brief, official note released from the Air Transport Division of the Argentine Ministry of Economy, which reads: “Handyway Cargo S.A. is hereby authorized to offer ground operations and handling services at Argentine airports.” This authorization marks the end of Intercargo’s decade-long state monopoly.
Javier Milei, the man in the casa Rosada and whose political symbol is a chainsaw, is further reducing the governmental field of influence by pushing back state activities in the aviation sector in favor of private investors. This is evidenced in the Boletín Oficial de la Republica Argentina under file number 2025-12-APN-SSTA#MEC and signed by Hernán Adrian Gómez, the Under-Secretary of State. In this case, the beneficiary is Handyway Cargo S.A., which the Milei regime has allowed to run the operational and ground handling business at roughly a dozen Argentinian airports. Among them, the country’s number one airport: Ezeiza in Buenos Aires, Rosario International, and Aeropuerto Pajas Blancas in Córdoba. “This new entitlement is possible thanks to the deregulation and opening of the airline industry that has been taking place since December 2023, in the country, in order to generate greater competitiveness in the sector, more supply and investment in the industry,” reasons Under-State Secretary Gómez in an official statement published last week.
Handling contract without tender
This decree paves the way for the ultra-liberal head of government and self-confessed Trump and Musk supporter, Milei, to cripple Intercargo which is owned 80% by the Ministry of Economy and 20% by the Ministry of Defense, and favor its private rival, Handyway, without any previous tender procedure.
Market experts are critical of whether the state-owned company, Intercargo, will be able to keep its head above Rio de la Plata’s water and generate new business that compensates for the expected major loss of market share. This would probably only be possible through a radical austerity program in which many employees would lose their jobs, and well-paid labor contracts would have to be renegotiated to drive costs down.
Broad product portfolio
Handyway Cargo has been in the airport business for more than 20 years and, in addition to Argentina, is also active in the neighboring countries of Paraguay and Uruguay. It offers customers a wide range of services from ramp handling to road feeder services and courier and express options. The core business, however, is the handling, throughput, and if necessary, storage of pharmaceuticals, perishables, dangerous goods, valuables, and standard cargo shipments. Handyway’s regular customers include the Latin American airlines, LATAM and its cargo division LATAM Cargo, Avianca/Avianca Cargo, and the private low-cost company, Flybondy. Founded in 2018, it has become the second-largest airline in the gaucho state after the flag carrier, Aerolíneas Argentinas.
Growing resistance
The flag carrier is another hot candidate standing on Milei’s privatization list. The government claims that Aerolíneas is too expensive, inefficient, and not restructurable. However, so far the plans have failed because the Chamber of Deputies has successfully refused to approve Milei’s intent. This is also because an alliance has been formed that completely rejects the privatization scheme. This pact includes the majority of the Deputies sitting in the Chamber of Commerce, almost all of Aerolíneas’ pilots and the vast majority of the airline’s 10,400 employees.
