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Tuesday, July 9, 2013

► FRANCE: Algeria's Tassili Airlines launches first international ops; eyes Dubai, Turkey, Spain by year end.

Algeria's Tassili Airlines (SF), on Friday July 5, launched its first international flights with two routes: Bejaia - Saint Etienne and Jijel - Grenoble in France.

Tassili Airlines 737-800

The two flights, charter flights in reality, are scheduled to operate once weekly every Friday in line with the carrier's development plan to meet demand, particularly from the Algerians in the south of France, during the summer period, Karim Bahard, Head of Communications at Tassili, said.

According to Mr Bahard, other charter flights to Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Morocco, Spain and Turkey "will be operational by the end of the year."

He however denied that the airline was operating in competition to national carrier, Air Algérie (AH), claiming that the two carriers complemented each other, as opposed to competing with one another.

The Algerian carrier, only granted its AOC to operate scheduled passenger flights in February, also inaugurated another domestic flight on Monday, July 8: Algiers to Djanet via Illizi. Tassili also focuses on providing greater access to air transport in the Sahara Desert prone regions of the country.