Air Algérie returns to Frankfurt
With the partial reopening of the country's air borders, Air Algérie resumed its international operations last week. The carrier is now in a process of progressive reconstruction of its pre-pandemic network.
Air Algerie has resumed its services between Algiers and Frankfurt in Germany. The airline now offers a weekly rotation (every Wednesday) between the Algerian capital and the German financial capital.
On this new route, Air Algerie is in competition with Lufthansa which currently offers two flights per week between the two cities.
The Algerian flag resumed regular international flights on 1 June after an absence of more than a year. For its return to the international market, Air Algerie offers, in addition to Frankfurt, three weekly flights to France (two to Paris and one to Marseille) as well as one trip per week to Turkey (Istanbul), Spain (Barcelona) and Tunisia (Tunis).
"We have opted for a gradual resumption by focusing on the routes where there are the largest Algerian communities," explains Amine Andaloussi, spokesman for Air Algérie, who reminds us that, in accordance with health requirements, people entering Algeria, whether nationals or foreigners, will have to present, on arrival, a PCR test less than 36 hours old, and will be subject to a compulsory 5-day quarantine in one of the dedicated hotels.
For the moment, only the airports of Algiers, Constantine and Oran are open to international traffic. The announcement of new services should come in the next few weeks, but Amine Andaloussi reminds us that this will be closely linked to the opinion of the scientific committee in charge of the evolution of the coronavirus pandemic in Algeria - the country has so far registered around 131,000 cases of contamination, including some 3,518 deaths.
Obviously, this resumption of international flights by Air Algerie - after the domestic flights effective since December 6 - will have the effect of supporting the cash flow, which has been drastically eroded over the last year. According to the spokesperson, the company - which operates a fleet of some 50 aircraft - recorded a loss in revenue of nearly 300 million dollars in 2020.
