Aerolineas Argentinas to be expropriated?

Reuters is carrying a report dated 23 October 2008 that the Argentine Government is considering expropriating Aerolineas Argentinas. The government had been in talks to buy the airline (see previous post).

The airline is unusual in that it is foreign owned and controlled by Spanish interests, the Marsans group, probably giving many of Argentina's bilateral air services agreement partners the right to refuse to grant it operating authorisation. To my knowledge none have done so.