Air Algerie will open a new link connecting Saint-Petersburg to Algiers, which allows Africa to be reached from Russia within a few hours, the director of the company Yacine Benslimane explained to Sputnik.
This new line will also allow Russian travelers to open up new horizons, as Western airlines have been forced to bypass Russian airspace due to sanctions.
"Air Algerie is opening a new route to Saint-Petersburg [...], which brings our two countries even closer, but which also brings the African continent closer to Russia. This also gives the company's customers in Russia the opportunity to travel on the network to the whole world, via Algiers International Airport," says Yacine Benslimane.
St. Petersburg-Algiers
Direct flights between St. Petersburg and Algiers will be launched at the end of July, at the rate of three times a week, the company recently announced. A connection between Moscow and the Algerian capital already exists.
The Houari Boumediene airport in Algiers subsequently allows access to more than 75 destinations around the world. Air Algerie also expects an increase in Russian travelers, who will come to discover the riches of Algeria. The country can indeed rely on its important tourist potential, as Yacine Benslimane assured Sputnik in mid-June.
"We are expecting a lot from the Russians, to come and travel to Algeria, since the country has a very impressive tourist potential, especially in the south," he explained.
Algeria has indeed made significant efforts to develop tourism in the Sahara. The entry and visa procedures are notably relaxed for visitors wishing to go there. During the black decade of the Algerian Civil War, tourism was put on hold in the south of the country and many countries advised their nationals against going there. However, the 1990s civil war is long over.
Further north, the Algerian coast remains a safe bet, with its seaside resorts of Ghazaouet or Sidi-Fredj, as well as Oran and Algiers. Recent geographical measurements have also revealed that this coastline is longer than assumed.