Algeria Partially Reopens Its Borders To Commercial Flights

Algeria has partially reopened its skies to commercial flights after 14 months of a shutdown to try to keep out the coronavirus.

The first flight of the national carrier, Air Algérie, took off for Paris on Tuesday and then landed later in the Algerian capital, Algiers.

The country has been extremely cautious about reopening with limited flights and strict requirements for passengers.

Those heading to Algiers are required to have a negative COVID-19 PCR test less than 36 hours before boarding, and all passengers must undergo a five-day quarantine in a hotel requisitioned by the state.

Expenses and meals at the hotel must be paid by the passengers and not everyone can board the infrequent flights while a negative test result is required to leave the hotel.

While some passengers welcomed the measures that allowed them to enter into the country, others thought otherwise.

Faouzi Mohamed, a student in France returning to Algeria for the holidays expressed dissatisfaction stating that he came for a 20-day vacation but will have to lose 5 days in quarantine for nothing.

Other are off the view that there is no adequate information from the Algerian airline company.

So far, the number of weekly flights and destinations is limited to five cities: Paris and Marseille in France, the Spanish city of Barcelona, the Tunisian capital, Tunis and Istanbul.

Other airlines, like Tunisair and Air France, are expected to add further flights of their own.