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Tango 01


The Agrupación Aérea Presidencial (Presidential Air Group) was the Head of State Air Transport Unit for the President of Argentina. It was closed in 2016 by president Mauricio Macri, because of the high cost of repairs and maintenance and the lack of adequate pilots.

The Presidential Air Group is a small fleet of Argentine Air Force aircraft and helicopters for official use by the President, immediate family and senior government officials. The fleet is administered by the Casa Militar ("Military House"), charged with presidential security and transportation. Both military and civilian pilots staff the fleet. The aircraft are painted white with pale blue lines, evoking the Argentine Flag.

The main aircraft is a Boeing 757 known as Tango 01 after its military registry: "T-01" (the "T" stands for "Transport", although it is fortuitously pronounced "Tango", as in the Argentine national dance, in the NATO alphabet). The 757 entered in service in 1995 replacing the former T-01, a Boeing 707.

The aircraft is nicknamed Virgen de Luján after Argentina's patron saint.

The Tango 01 757 has been an object of political contention for the last decade (and a political campaign hot-topic during the 1999 Presidential election), with many politicians and media commentators denouncing this aircraft as an unnecessary and expensive luxury prone to abuse by presidents, their families, friends and political allies.

The current Presidential fleet also includes two Fokker F28 (T-02 and T-03) (one always in service), a Boeing 737-500 (T-04) and a Learjet 60 (T-10). The Learjet is also used by the Air Force Chief of Staff.


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