Old Algerian Planes to Transport Goods

Air Algérie company is expected gradually to withdraw its older planes that exceeded a quarter of a century of service, and which number is estimated to 4, according to the latest statement by the airline company’s General Manager, Mohamed Abdou Bouderbala, and transfer a part it from the passengers’ transport to goods’ transport, as this comes at a time in which the government started to rely on planes for the export of potatoes, tomatoes, and a number of Algerian products for abroad, amid complaints of exporters with the lack of planes that are allocated to this purpose.

Head of the maintenance department at Air Algérie, Ziouche Mouhamed Salim, said, on the sidelines of overseeing the opening of the doors on maintenance Houari Boumediene International Airport, that part of Air Algérie old planes’ fleet will be used to transport goods instead of travellers, while he announced on selling the remaining planes to the mother companies.

Separately, the same official announced on hiring 50 new workers in the branch of maintenance, in the near future, to fill the branch needs, which will enter into service officially, as an independent function, at the beginning of next July, revealing on a massive program to coordinate with foreign customers across five partnership agreements, by giving them the planes for Aircraft Maintenance, and in return the planes will be taken for repairs at the level of maintenance branch that belongs to Air Algérie.

“Air Algérie has goals to enter the African market, and deal with African companies, and even local markets that are active in Algeria to repair the planes.”

“Planes maintenance does not take more than 3 weeks if they are in acceptable condition. These planes will be taken to the “repair” garage every 500 hours. This section today includes 1,250 workers, and all of them work to modernize air Algérie fleet. Workers will be trained for a period of 3 years, in the field of security and dealing with the plane and then maintenance.”

In the area of accidents that are recorded for the planes, he said they had nothing to do with the plane’s maintenance or its safety, and it is rare that it happens to be a technical problem rather than a human.