Trade partners welcomed Air Algérie (AH) to South Africa last week, with the airline’s inaugural flight between Algiers and Johannesburg. The airline will operate two flights a week on the route from September 21.

ALG-JNB is the airline’s 45th international route and its seventh in Africa.

The inaugural flight carried a high-level delegation from Algeria, including ministry and embassy officials, the airline’s executive leadership team, and foreign press. The inaugural flight was scheduled to coincide with last week’s 2023 BRICS Summit.

Yacine Benslimane, CEO of Air Algérie, said the new service would create new opportunities for trade and travel from both countries. “The flights will allow passengers and economic operators an additional means of travelling and transporting their cargo to North Africa, Europe, North America, and the Middle East.”

Air Algérie plans to add flights to Addis Ababa and Douala later this year.  Caracas and Havana will follow early in 2024 and a new link to the US, Algiers to New York, is also on the cards, subject to the successful conclusion of negotiations between Algeria’s government and the US.

Ticket sales are already open for the new service between ALG and JNB. Flights are scheduled to leave ALG on Sundays and Wednesdays, arriving in JNB the following day.

Algeria, the largest country in Africa, has strong Arabic and French influences and is known for its rich oil and gas reserves.

“The launch of this new route between Algeria and South Africa comes as a boon to Intra-Africa travel. Furthermore, it re-establishes a relationship that began in the ’80s between the countries and will be an enabler for growth in trade and tourism,” added Achma Asokan, Group CEO, AirlinePros International. “It supports Algeria’s plans to expand the national airline’s network and make Algiers a major North African hub.”

Stakeholders are excited about the potential to grow tourism between Algeria and SA.

Sthembiso Dlamini, CEO of Gauteng’s Tourism Authority, which is a member of Gauteng’s Air Access Project, the highly successful initiative to develop connectivity between Gauteng and strategic regional and international markets, was sold on the potential of the new route. Dlamini also noted that North Africa was a growing source of exhibitions, corporate meetings and events business for South Africa.

“We will enter into joint marketing agreements with the airline to showcase some of the products and experiences that we have in Gauteng,” the CEO added. “In Gauteng, we have a very strong trade and investment focus, so any airline or any new route means a lot from a trade and investment point of view, and we will build those relations.”

Jabulani Khambule, Regional GM of Airports Company South Africa, agreed that the launch was a major win for Gauteng province. “This is great and very encouraging after COVID-19. We are also happy that it’s an African airline coming to South Africa, which will contribute to intra-African trade and grow the industry. We are very excited... It’s a big win for the Air Access Project in Gauteng.”