It is not yet summer and the two major Algerian passenger transport companies, Air Algérie and Algérie Ferries, are struggling to satisfy all the demand on air and sea lines between Algeria and Europe.
With these tensions in the low season, Algerian travelers and those from the diaspora fear an unmanageable situation during the summer season if appropriate additional measures are not taken.
On the Air Algérie reservation site, searching for a seat on flights from Algiers International Airport to all Paris airports in the period from Saturday, March 30 to Monday, April 1 gives the following result: “There is no availability on the selected flights/dates. Please change your selection .”
This means that all flights during this period are full. This is also confirmed by the complaints of many travelers shared on social networks. And it’s the same for those who want to take the boat.
According to the specialized site, Visa Voyages Algérie (VVA), the reservation site for Algeria Ferries crossings between Marseille (France) and Algerian ports was stormed immediately after its opening on Saturday, March 23. According to the same source, summer reservations for crossings from the Spanish ports of Barcelona and Alicante are still not open.
And that’s not all. This lack of places is accompanied by an increase in ticket prices for both companies on the flights and crossings on the summer program. For Air Algérie flights between Paris and Algiers, start at 295 euros for a one-way ticket in the middle of Ramadan for availability from April 2.
Air Algérie ticket prices during this month of Ramadan remain high, despite the 50% reduction decided to allow members of the Algerian community established abroad who wish to spend the holy month in the country.
The announcement was made at the end of December by the President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, in his speech to the nation before both houses of Parliament.
Algeria Ferries and Air Algérie: rise in prices and lack of places
This discount did not have a significant effect on Air Algérie ticket prices, due to lack of seats on the planes.
On flights and crossings next summer, things are already soaring, as evidenced by the prices offered on booking sites. For example, the Algiers-Paris return flight, between July 13 and August 30, is 715 euros.
On Algérie Ferries, it’s not cheap either, as shown by this Marseille-Algiers return ticket shared on social networks by a traveler: for six people, including two children and a vehicle, it’s 3,780 euros. Excessively expensive. As the summer season approaches, specialists fear even greater increases on both air and maritime lines.
Unaffected by the presidential reduction of 50%, Umrah flights are experiencing a surge during Ramadan this year. According to Mouloud Youbi, president of the National Union of Tourism and Travel Agencies (UNATAV), cited by the Daily Expression, 60% of reservations with travel agencies were canceled due to rising costs, which causes enormous harm to agencies.
The cost of Umrah in Algeria reached 560,000 dinars this month of Ramadan (before being reduced to 350,000, due to lack of demand) and the plane ticket alone now costs 140,000 dinars while it was 60,000 dinars previously. a few weeks ago.
“ The prices of certain flights will be revised downwards so that they are within everyone’s reach,” promised the CEO of Air Algérie, Hamza Benhamouda, questioned by APN deputies on Tuesday.
His predecessor, Yacine Benslimane, passing by the same institution last January, had announced a program to improve the offer in anticipation of the summer season.
Commercial director Yacine Amiar, now replaced, announced on the same occasion that three planes have been chartered and three others will be chartered soon to satisfy demand during the summer, specifying that an offer of 1.2 million seats will be available during this period.
The same desire to improve services and offers during the summer season was expressed by the CEO of Algérie Ferries when he met a group of parliamentarians in February.
Even if all the measures announced are implemented, observers wonder whether they will be sufficient to cope with the demand which promises to be record high during the summer because of that recorded in the low season.
