Argentinian state-owned oil & gas outfit Yacimientos Petroliferos Fiscales, also known as YPF, is selling two business jets, one Learjet 60XR and one Embraer Praetor 500, on the orders of the country's president, Javier Milei.
According to local reports, the cash-strapped country’s new administration believes the two jets were “used almost exclusively by privileged politicians” such as former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and views them as an unnecessary expense. Fernández de Kirchner's administration left an outstanding debt of over USD200,000 with YPF for the use of these planes, digital newspaper Todo Noticias (TN) reported.
However, the sale of these planes, which was first announced in December 2023 and for which the Argentinian government sought to obtain USD20-30 million, has yet to take place.
According to Flightradar24 ADS-B data, the Learjet 60XR, LV-BTA (msn 60-353), was last used on March 19, 2024, flying from Rosario Islas Malvinas to Buenos Aires Jorge Newbery, while the Praetor 500, LV-KGJ (msn 55010043), flew on April 8 on the same route.
ch-aviation has reached out to YPF for comment.
A source told TN that YPF must hire a third-party entity to price the aircraft, “and once all that documentation is ready, with the final consent of the board of directors, these assets will put be up for sale through a public tender.” No tender with these characteristics was found by ch-aviation on the country’s official tender website.
