Air Algerie refuses to reduce prices of flights to France, French authorities say

French General Directorate of Civil Aviation acknowledges the responsibility of the Air Algerie in refusing to reduce the prices of tickets for flights between Algeria and France.

Same authority added that Air Algerie refused to lift the number of additional flights to France, which made the prices remain high.

French Directorate of Civil Aviation explained, in its response to the correspondence of the Association of advocates for the rights of users of Air Algerie, on the rise in ticket prices, dated on April, 13, 2012 No. 0.009 to 12 (a copy of it available to Echorouk), that the French Directorate has not received any request from Air Algerie‭ ‬ for the adoption of ‭ ‬program ‭of additional flights ‭to ‭France, ‭adding that there is no blockage ‭or freeze ‭of any program of additional‭ ‬flights of Air Algerie. ‬

The same Directorate lamented, in its correspondent, Air Algerie’s resorting to reduce the special offers for the flights from the airports of Paris for the next summer, prompting French companies to reduce their offers pursuant to the agreement signed between Algeria and France on 16 February 2006, a decision that caused a shortage ‭in offers and led to ‭rising prices, ‭as the agreement provides for working with similar measures‭.

‬Head of the Association of advocates for the rights of users of air Algerie, Omar Ait-Mokhtar, said that the response of the French Directorate of Civil Aviation is a proof that Air Algerie is the only responsible on the continued rise in ticket prices, noting that the refusal of Air Algerie to plan additional flights, means ‭ ‬ ‭ ‬that the French companies can not lifting the number of flights, therefor‬ prices are rising due to ‭the monopoly.