This should be one of the great achievements of the Bouteflika erainaugurated by the President himself. The new terminal at Algiers Houari Boumediene airport was due to open its doors to the public on 26 February. Then, on the 24th, while they were in the middle of preparations for the event, employees of the Société de Gestion des Services et Infrastructures Aéroportuaires (SGSIA) in Algiers were ordered to stop everything. And since then, nothing.
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This is the third time that the inauguration of Algiers' new airport terminal has been postponed. It was originally scheduled to open in November 2018, but construction problems forced a delay. Since February, street protests demanding that Abdelaziz Bouteflika renounce his bid for a fifth presidential term have forced the airport management to postpone again.
However, the new terminal is eagerly awaited. It should help to relieve congestion on the platform which, until now, has handled an estimated 9 million passengers a year through three terminals - some of which pre-date independence. The current terminal 1 is the most modern. Opened in July 2006, it is reserved for international traffic, but its capacity of only six million passengers is now clearly insufficient. Dedicated to domestic traffic, terminal 2 - the former international terminal - was renovated in 2007 and handles 2.5 million passengers, while terminal 3 handles charter flights.
The new terminal is a turnkey project entrusted to the Chinese company China State Construction Engineering (CSCEC). It represents an investment of 551 million euros (74 billion Algerian dinars). Work began at the end of 2014 and the terminal is due to open for business. originally expected in October 2018which has now been postponed until later in 2019.
The new terminal has a capacity of ten million passengers a year, but will be able to handle up to 12 million passengers according to an interview given to an Algerian magazine by Tahar Allache, CEO of SGSIA. It consists of a central building and a pier with a total surface area of 200,000 m², compared with only 82,000 m² for the current facility. The pier can handle 21 aircraft, while the departures hall offers 120 check-in counters, compared with 60 at present. Check-in formalities will be smoother on both departures and arrivals thanks to the use of new, more efficient technologies. On arrival, baggage will be delivered on 12 carousels. The new terminal is accompanied by a new car park for more than 4,200 vehicles, in addition to the 2,400 spaces already available. A Hyatt Regency hotel will be added to the new terminal, as well as a dedicated rail line, a first in Algeria. In 2020, the metro should also reach the terminal.
The opening of the new terminal will also mean a new distribution passengers. The current Terminal 1, made up of two halls, will be reserved for domestic passengers in Hall 1. Hall 2, currently occupied by Air Algérie and a number of other carriers, will be reserved for airlines from the Gulf States, which carry large numbers of pilgrims. According to Tahar Allache, the handling capacity will meet needs until 2030, with Algiers now able to handle 16 to 18 million passengers a year, double its current traffic.
Opening up air transport to competition in Algiers?
Paradoxically, while Algiers will have the largest airport surface area in the whole of Africa, traffic remains well below its competitors on the continent. With almost 9 million passengers a year, Algiers is a long way behind Cairo, North Africa's leading hub with 17.8 million passengers in 2018, and is neck and neck with Casablanca and its 9.4 million passengers. Tunis handles more than 6.2 million passengers a year.
The airport's mediocre performance is due to countless restrictions facing air transport in Algeria. Until now, the country has mainly protected its national carrier, Air Algérie, preventing the arrival of low-cost carriers and the emergence of new airlines. In June 2018, according to OAG, Air Algérie generated almost 140,000 seats/week in Algiers, followed by Aigle Azur with 19,000 seats/week - and which offers six to seven destinations in France depending on the season -, then Vueling and its 12,000 seats/week.
While low-cost airlines account for more than 40% of traffic in Morocco, it is estimated that they generate only 7% of passenger traffic in Algeria. While six low-cost airlines land in Casablanca and four or five serve Tunis, only three low-cost carriers are present in Algiers. In terms of seat capacity, traditional airlines account for more than 90% of traffic, while the market share of low-cost carriers is limited to 6%, according to OAG figures.
The future Algerian authorities resulting from the ongoing political changes may have to adopt a different attitude to tourism and, by extension, to air transport. With only 2.6 million tourists expected in 2019 according to the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), compared with 12.7 million in Morocco and 9 million in Tunisia, Algeria has enormous potential to catch up. According to the WTTC, tourism and travel accounted for just 6.6% of GDP in 2018 in direct and indirect benefits, compared with 19.1% in Morocco and 15.9% in Tunisia. Business tourism in Algeria accounted for 23% of all spending last year, according to the WTTC.
The extremely restrictive visa policy, particularly for French visitors who are always viewed with suspicion, could be eased or at least simplified. This would contribute to a boom in air traffic, thereby boosting business flows and leisure. The introduction of competition between Air Algérie on its domestic routes, but also on European routes, would be a second element that would stimulate passenger traffic. If the new Algerian authorities are pragmatic, leisure and business tourism could become a major economic sector, generating investment and jobs. It now remains to be seen how the political situation will evolve and who will ultimately come to power.
