Houari Boumediene Airport

Houari Boumediene Airport مطار هواري بومدين الدولي Aéroport d'Alger Houari Boumediene
IATA: ALG – ICAO: DAAG ALG Location of airport in Algeria
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		EGSA Alger
Serves		Algiers, Algeria
Hub for		Aigle Azur Air Algérie Tassili Airlines
Elevation AMSL		25 m / 82 ft
Coordinates		36°41′27.65″N 003°12′55.47″E
Website		www.AeroportAlger.dz
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
05/23	3,500	11,482	Asphalt
09/27	3,500	11,482	Asphalt
Helipads
Number	Length		Surface
	m	ft
H1	72×26	240×85	Bitumen
Statistics (2009)
Passengers			4,474,970
Sources: List of the busiest airports in Africa, AIP, EGSA Alger

Houari Boumediene Airport (Arabic: مطار هواري بومدين الدولي‎, French: Aéroport d'Alger Houari Boumediene) (IATA: ALG, ICAO: DAAG), also known as Algiers Airport, is an international airport serving Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It is located 9.1 NM (16.9 km; 10.5 mi) east southeast of the city.

The airport is named after Houari Boumediene, a former president of Algeria. Under the French rule, Dar El Beïda, the area at which the airport is located, was known as Maison Blanche (white house) and, in much of the literature about the Algerian War of Independence it is called Maison Blanche Airport.

The Company Management Services and Infrastructure Aéroportuaires (SGSIA), more commonly known as "Airport of Algiers", is a Public Company. It was established on 1 November 2006 to manage and operate the Airport Algiers Houari Boumediene. The SGSIA includes 2100 employees.

History

The airport was created in 1924 by naming Maison Blanche Airport. During World War II, Maison Blanche Airport was a primary objective of the Allied Operation Torch Eastern Task Force on 8 November 1942 and was sized by a combination of United States Army units, British Commandos and elements of a British Infantry Division. Opposition by Vichy French forces who defended the airport ended that same day, as orders from Admiral Darlan in Algiers were issued to cease all hostilities in North Africa.

Once in Allied hands, the airport was used by the United States Army Air Force Air Transport Command as a major transshipment hub for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel. It functioned as a stopover en-route to Tafarquay Airport, near Oran or to Tunis Airport, Tunisia on the North African Cairo-Dakar transport route. It also flew personnel and cargo to Marseille, Milan, Naples and Palermo, Sicily. In addition, Twelfth Air Force used the airport as a command and control facility, headquartering its XII Bomber Command; XXII Tactical Air Command, and the 51st Troop Carrier Wing to direct combat and support missions during the North African Campaign against the German Afrika Korps Known Allied air force combat units assigned to the airfield were:

• 51st Troop Carrier Wing, 23 November 1942-28 March 1943
• 63d Fighter Wing, May–August 1943
• 97th Bombardment Group, 13–22 November 1942, B-17 Flying Fortress
• 301st Bombardment Group, 5–16 December 1942, B-17 Flying Fortress
• 319th Bombardment Group, 24–12 November 1942, B-26 Marauder
• 14th Fighter Group, 18–22 November 1942, P-38 Lightning
• 350th Fighter Group, May–July 1943, P-38 Lightning
• 3d Reconnaissance Group, 25 December 1942-13 June 1943, (various photo reconnaissance aircraft)

Terminals, airlines and destinations

Airport map

The International Terminal (Terminal 1) presents a capacity of 6 million passengers per year. It was inaugurated on July 5, 2006 by the President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. International traffic is 2.5 million passengers per year. There are 5000 car parking spaces, a taxi stand, a boarding area of 27,000 m², with a 16 gates

The Domestic Terminal (Terminal 2) renovated in 2007, has a capacity of 2.5 million passengers per year. It offers conditions of comfort and security comparable to those of Terminal 1. The domestic traffic is 1.5 million passengers per year. Terminal 2 is equipped with 20 registration desks, a cafeteria, tearoom and prayer room. The terminal also has a pharmacy, perfumery, a hairdresser, watches, luggage shops, games and toys and a tobacco/newspaper shop. There are 900 car parking spaces, a taxi stand, a boarding area of 5,000 m², with a 7 gates, luggage delivery area, and lounges for premium passengers.

The Terminal 3 was once the terminal in operating domestic flights. After 2007, the terminal is became for pilgrimage flights and charter flights.

The following airlines have scheduled services to Houari Boumediene Airport as of September 2011:

Airlines	Destinations	Terminal/Hall
Aigle Azur	Basel/Mulhouse, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Paris-Orly, Toulouse	1-1
Air Algérie	Abidjan, Alicante, Amman-Queen Alia, Bamako, Barcelona, Beijing-Capital, Beirut, Bordeaux, Brussels, Cairo, Casablanca, Dakar, Damascus, Dubai, Frankfurt, Geneva, Istanbul-Atatürk, Jeddah, Lille, London-Heathrow, Lyon, Madrid, Marseille, Medinah, Metz/Nancy, Milan-Malpensa, Montréal-Trudeau, Moscow-Sheremetyevo, Niamey, Nice, Nouakchott, Ouagadougou, Palma de Mallorca, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Paris-Orly, Rome-Fiumicino, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Tripoli, Tunis	1-2
Air Algérie	Adrar, Annaba, Batna, Bechar, Bejaia, Biskra, Bordj Mokhtar, Constantine, Djanet, Djelfa, El Baydh, El Golea, El Oued, Ghardaia, Hassi Messaoud, Hassi R'Mel, Illizi, In Amenas, In Salah, Jijel, Laghouat, Mascara, Oran, Ouargla, Setif, Tamanrasset, Tebessa, Tiaret, Timimoun, Tindouf, Tlemcen, Touggourt	2
Air France	Marseille, Paris-Charles de Gaulle	1-1
Air Méditerranée	Montpellier	1-1
Alitalia	Rome-Fiumicino	1-1
British Airways	London-Gatwick [begins 25 March 2012], London-Heathrow [ends 24 March 2012]	1-1
EgyptAir	Cairo	1-1
Iberia	Madrid	1-1
Jetairfly	Brussels-South Charleroi	1-1
Libyan Airlines	Tripoli	1-1
Lufthansa	Frankfurt	1-1
Qatar Airways	Doha	1-1
Royal Air Maroc	Casablanca	1-1
Royal Wings	Amman	1-1
Saudi Arabian Airlines	Jeddah	1-1
Syrianair	Damascus	1-1
TAP Portugal operated by Portugália	Lisbon	1-1
Tassili Airlines	Constantine, Ghardaia, Hassi Messaoud, Hassi R'Mel, Oran, Tamanrasset	2
Tunisair	Tunis	1-1
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul-Atatürk	1-1

Cargo

• Air Algérie Cargo
• Air Express Algeria
• Air France Cargo
• Cargolux
• DHL Aviation
• FedEx Express
• Royal Air Maroc Cargo
• Royal Jordanian Cargo
• Swissport Algeria Cargo
• Turkish Airlines Cargo
• UPS Airlines

Statistics

Passenger use, total cargo, and aircraft movements have increased since 2003.

	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Passengers
Total	2,631,807	3,413,417	5,403,453	6,283,340	6,783,340	7,183,340

Ground Transport

Car

The distance to the center of Algiers is 20 km using the route N5 direct Bab Ezzouar.

Parking

The airport has a 7,000 capacity car park.

Bus

Buses link the airport to downtown Algiers.

Subway

The Algiers Metro (line L1) will connect the airport with the center of Algiers.

Incidents and accidents

• On 23 July 1968, three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacked El Al Flight 426, a Boeing 707 with 48 other people on board and diverted it to the airport. They eventually released all 48 hostages unharmed.
• On 20 January 1981 the 52 United States embassy hostages arrived at the airport after they departed Tehran, Iran.
• On 28 August 1992, a bomb at the airport killed nine people and injured 128. Several people were arrested in connection with the bombing, including Hossein Abderrahim, a member of the Islamic FIS political party. He was executed in 1993. In 2002, Abdelghani Ait Haddad, sentenced to death in his absence, took refuge in the United Kingdom after residing in France for nine years.
• On 24 December 1994 Air France Flight 8969, an Airbus A300 bound for Paris, was seized by four Islamic terrorists before take off; three passengers were killed before departure. In Marseille, France, a special operations team of the French Gendarmerie stormed the aircraft and killed all four hijackers; 25 passengers were injured.

Gallery

• 

  Houari Boumediene Airport

• 

  Teminal 1

• 

  The new terminal at the airport

• 

  Check-in sector Hall 1 (Terminal 1)

• 

  Entrance to the terminal

• 

  Boarding zone

• 

  Public zone (Hall 1)

• 

  Gates

• 

  Hall 2 (Terminal 1)

• 

  Public zone (Hall 2)

• 

  Exterior Hall 1 (Terminal 1)

• 

  Check-in sector Hall 2 (Terminal 1)

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

External links

• Aéroport d’Alger Houari Boumediene, official website
• Accident history for ALG at Aviation Safety Network
• Current weather for DAAG at NOAA/NWS