French lobby behind the campaign on Air Algerie, CEO Bouabdellah

CEO of Air Algerie, Ouahid Bouabdellah, says in this interview with Echorouk that rumors circulating on the international ban on Algerian aircrafts are being manipulated by what he called as the “French lobby in Algeria.”

It was reportedly said that 5 Air Algerie aircrafts are banned to fly in the European air zone. Mr Bouabdellah denied the existence of any ban on Algerian planes, saying: “It’s the French lobby in Algeria which is behind such allegations. It tends to hit down our company to serve foreign interests.”  

‭However, the Air Algerie CEO is accused of mismanagement by the sector trade unions. In this context, Mr Bouabdellah said: “Well, there’s no problem with the union, but it’s a matter of a conflict between unions and their branches,” adding: “they are trying to sow problems and I decided to face them, while those who used signatures of an old list of employees to force me to resign, I decided to sue them in court.”

Mr Bouabdellah further added that Air Algerie has decided selling 23 old aircrafts piece by piece, after remaining without service and maintenance for ten years. 

“When I took the commands, I found a mess and a losing company, which abandoned exploiting 23 aircrafts out of a 43 fleet since 2000. However, I’ve managed curbing debts three times lesser.” 

As for the fate of the 23 aircrafts, Mr Bouabdellah said: “Well, they are broken down and can’t be repaired, that’s why we decided to dismantle them and sell them piece by piece.”