South America (SAM)

Advancing pilot representation throughout South America

about SAM

The South America (SAM) Region is a diverse, fast-growing and underserved aviation market, with difficult operational environments, varied levels of infrastructure development, and challenging labour regulatory frameworks. Air transport plays a key role in regional and international connectivity, from major air routes to remote areas.

The SAM Region is led by one Executive Vice-President (EVP) and supported by two Regional Vice-Presidents (RVPs), who work closely with Member Associations to coordinate their priorities and ensure effective representation. IFALPA actively engages with the ICAO South American Regional Office in Lima, Peru and other relevant stakeholders on issues such as safety oversight, regulatory development, and airspace management.

Airline pilots in the SAM region operate in difficult conditions, including complex terrain, unevenly developed infrastructure, and communication limitations, requiring strong operational awareness and consistent application of standards. A growing challenge in the region is the continued expansion of transnational airlines, which introduce increased regulatory complexity and differences in employment conditions and operational frameworks across the region.

In this context, IFALPA’s presence in the region is essential to ensure strong pilot representation, support the development and application of ICAO standards, and bring operational experience into the decision-making process. Through the continued engagement with ICAO and our regional partners, IFALPA contributes to strengthening safety, security, and labour standards across South America.

Safety Culture and Reporting

Evolving regulatory and operational conditions in some States may adversely affect positive safety culture and the effectiveness of non-punitive reporting systems, with potential implications for overall safety performance.
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Yellow Unions

Yellow unions are organisations that present themselves as unions but are considered to be influenced or controlled by employers or management. By their nature they undermine effective pilot representation by limiting independent advocacy, weakening the collective voice, and affecting the ability of pilots to influence safety, working conditions, and professional standards.

Regulatory Frameworks

Persistent regulatory gaps in areas such as fatigue risk management, flight and duty time limitations, ACMI oversight, and pilot selection criteria result in uneven application of safety standards across the region.

Labour Relations

Ongoing industrial tensions and strained labour relations at several operators reflect increasing pressure on pilot representative structures and contribute to reduced stability in the industrial environment.
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Protecting the Pilot Voice

Across parts of the aviation sector in South America and other developing regions, pilot representation can face significant challenges due to complex labour frameworks, fragmented regulatory environments, and commercial pressures that may complicate effective organisation.

In some cases, pilot representatives may also encounter professional pressures linked to their representational role, which can make open dialogue and structured engagement more difficult.

Despite this, airline pilots remain strongly committed to advancing aviation safety, security, and professional standards. Their drive to organise is grounded in the shared objective of maintaining and improving operational safety.

Effective pilot representation is essential to ensuring that frontline operational experience informs regulatory and industry decision-making. Where it is supported, it strengthens communication, improves policy outcomes, and enhances safety.

Enabling pilots to organise freely and safely is therefore fundamental to sustaining safe, resilient, and professional aviation systems.

Latest Publications
September 15, 2025

Crew Layovers in Caracas

The Federation urges all operators to consider discontinuing any scheduled layovers in Caracas until there is a measurable decrease in the threat level to air crew.

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Meet the Team

Capt. Daniel Bianco

Executive Vice-President South America (SAM)

Captain Bianco has been working for Aerolineas Argentinas for over 20 years. He is currently Captain on the A330 fleet and has been a flight instructor for both pilots and cabin crews. Captain Bianco is the FESPLA´s General Coordinator and a member of the ITF Pilot Committee.

Capt. Oscar Ugarte-Salinas

Regional Vice-President SAM North

Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. Overwater airspace of Barranquilla, Rochambeau FIRs and unnamed airspace bounded on the east by Guayaquil and Lima FIRs, on the south by 15 00S, on the west by 120 00W and on the north by the equator.

Capt. Sebastian Olivera-Jimenez

Regional Vice-President SAM South

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, including Easter Island, Paraguay and Uruguay. Overwater airspace of Antofagasta, Santiago, Puerto Montt, Punta Arenas, Comodoro Rivadavia, Ezeiza, Montevideo, Porto Alegre, Brasilia, Recife and Belem FIRs, plus the polar region extending south to 90 00S and bounded by 10 00W, 90 00W and Easter Island FIR.

Sebastián Currás Barrios

Senior Professional & Government Affairs Officer