Argentina’s FAdeA Faces Growing Crisis Amid Mounting Debts and Delayed Contracts
The Argentine Aircraft Factory (FAdeA) is facing an increasingly critical situation, following years of mismanagement under previous administrations. The company has accumulated $16 million in debt to suppliers, who are now demanding urgent action to avoid risking the company’s future.
The information was reported by La Voz del Interior, a Córdoba-based newspaper, which revealed that salaries for FAdeA’s 720 employees for April were only fully paid by Wednesday, May 14. Meanwhile, debt to suppliers continues to grow, with payment delays now exceeding five months.
Contracts with the Argentine Air Force, which account for 80% of FAdeA’s revenue, remain unsigned. According to the company, the process is stalled due to pending audits and required approvals from the Ministry of Economy. While FAdeA also holds smaller contracts with private carriers such as Flybondi and JetSMART, these are insufficient to sustain the entire operation. The loss of key certifications—such as the DGAC of Chile in 2023—has further hindered opportunities for international work.
The Argentine Aeronautical and Space Chamber (CArAE), which represents supplier companies, issued a stark warning: if overdue debts are not settled immediately, many firms may be forced to shut down. Some suppliers are still providing materials “as a gesture of goodwill,” but emphasize that their patience is wearing thin.
Business leaders warn that the situation jeopardizes decades of industrial and technological capability built in Córdoba. At a time when global demand for aircraft is soaring, FAdeA and its local partners risk missing a once-in-a-generation opportunity—“a train that, if missed today, is lost forever.”
In a public letter, CArAE expressed concerns over the loss of irreplaceable technicians and specialists, the risk of equipment obsolescence due to lack of maintenance, and the potential collapse of a supplier network that has been vital in recent years. This, they stress, is happening at a time when “all conditions are in place to produce for the world from Córdoba.”
The letter also highlights the need to activate existing contracts with both domestic and international clients, and to revitalize civil and military aircraft maintenance operations, a segment seen as highly profitable.
The document, as cited by La Voz del Interior, ends with an urgent appeal to the Ministry of Defense, FAdeA’s majority shareholder, to take swift action. The goal: resume production, normalize employee payments, and prevent the collapse of an industrial chain vital to Argentina’s technological sovereignty.
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