Air Algérie announces seven new international routes for 2026, expanding to Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe

Air Algérie is set to launch seven new international routes by the end of 2026, expanding its network into Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. This expansion follows the renewal of its fleet. Hamza Benhammuda, CEO of Air Algérie, announced these plans during a press conference held on Thursday evening, alongside Mokhtar Saïd Mediouni, CEO of Algiers Airport management company, and Abdelkader Salmi, Director General of Air Algérie Cargo. The first new route, Algiers to Libreville, Gabon, is scheduled for mid-June 2026. Four additional African destinations will follow: Luanda, Angola; Maputo, Mozambique; Accra, Ghana; and Lagos, Nigeria. These routes aim to position Algiers as a transit hub between Europe, the Maghreb, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Beyond Africa, Air Algérie plans to open a direct route to Shanghai, China, in winter 2026, and to Warsaw, Poland, to serve the growing Algerian community in Central and Eastern Europe. Benhammuda noted that the realization of this program is contingent on the continued delivery of new aircraft. Concurrently, Algiers Houari-Boumédiène International Airport is undergoing modernization, including smart check-in systems, digitized travel paths, biometric corridors, and electric shuttles. The airport, which served over 10 million passengers in 2025, projects exceeding 11 million in 2026. Terminal 1 will be dedicated to low-cost flights, and rest cabins for transit passengers are planned to enhance comfort and competitiveness as a reg