Algeria : why the airlines are not refunding tickets for canceled flights - The Point

as Soon as it comes to the relationship between France and Algeria, we are treading on eggs, and the sanitary precautions imposed by the coronavirus are quickly

Algeria : why the airlines are not refunding tickets for canceled flights - The Point

as Soon as it comes to the relationship between France and Algeria, we are treading on eggs, and the sanitary precautions imposed by the coronavirus are quickly interpreted as measures of political retaliation. The air transport between the two countries is also a tricky subject, very cost-effective in normal times with more than four million passengers in 2019. The passengers of Aigle Azur, the second company between France and Algeria, left in the ground last September, have never been repaid after the bankruptcy of the company.

The pandemic raise the subject of the redemption of the notes. The federal Union of consumers-What to choose has sued twenty companies, including Air Algeria and Air France, for non-payment of the plane tickets cancelled due to the health crisis. The UFC had already given notice 57 airlines for non-compliance with the european legislation in terms of refund. "It is necessary that everyone understands that we had to react in a situation completely unprecedented and, therefore, it is necessary to invent mechanisms ", explained recently on BFM the secretary of State for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari. "Maybe in the future it will be necessary to create a compensation fund for travellers directly driven by a european entity to protect passengers the european ", he said.

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single Journey fare of the go-back

The current situation is complex. To this day, the borders between France and Algeria remain closed even if, for a time, Algeria was included, like other Maghreb countries, on the green list european. But France, in the face of the threat of the spread of the virus, has not acceded to this agreement. The list is supposed to be updated every two weeks, seems to be stuck, and a return of the commercial traffic classic between France and Algeria is not expected before September, according to an executive of the airline.

Now, on waiver, only " return flights ", an appellation that is wider than the repatriation to accept students enrolled abroad, are allowed. Air France operates a daily from Paris to Algiers and ASL Airlines a dozen weekly flights Paris-Algiers, but also from Lyon. The tickets are put on sale ten days before departure to charge high rates, of the order of 340 euros compared to a hundred euros to the price of the call in the off-season. In fact, the companies need to finance go to empty at the start of Paris with the back and its paying passengers. Air Algerie operates in reverse, full of passengers departing from Paris and empty at start of Algeria. More than 5,000 algerian nationals or dual nationals would be stranded in Paris, often in difficult conditions.

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Air Algerie has consistently posted of the flights on its website which have not then been made. Passengers who have booked have not been paid in full and assets have been proposed sine die. This is contrary to european rules. The financial situation of Algeria complicates the situation, because the international flight are referenced in dollars. However, the exchange control imposed by Algiers is very strict.

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Date Of Update: 20 July 2020, 10:33
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