Houari Boumediene International Airport (Arabic:مطار هواري بومدين الدولي,romanized: Maṭār Hawwārī Būmadyan al-Duwaliyy)[1][2][3] (IATA:ALG,ICAO:DAAG), also known asAlgiers Airport orAlgiers International Airport, is the maininternational airport servingAlgiers, the capital ofAlgeria. It is located 9.1 NM (16.9 km; 10.5 mi) east southeast[1] of the city.
The airport is named afterHouari Boumediene (1932–1978), a former president of Algeria.Dar El Beïda, the area where the airport is located, was known asMaison Blanche ('White House'), and the airport is called Maison Blanche Airport in much of the literature about theAlgerian War of Independence. The SGSIA (French:Société de Gestion des Services et Infrastructures Aéroportuaires), more commonly known as 'Airport of Algiers', is a public company established on 1 November 2006 to manage and operate the airport. The SGSIA has 2,100 employees.
The airport was created in 1924 and named Maison Blanche Airport.[4] DuringWorld War II, Maison Blanche was a primary objective of the AlliedOperation Torch Eastern Task Force on 8 November 1942, and was seized by a combination ofUnited States Army units,British Commandos and elements of a British Infantry Division. Opposition byVichy French forces who defended the airport ended that same day, as orders fromAdmiral Darlan in Algiers were issued to cease all hostilities in North Africa.[citation needed]
Hawker Hurricane Aircraft ofNo. 43 Squadron RAF, under the Command ofSquadron Leader Michael Rook, landed at Maison Blanche shortly after 11.00 Hrs on 8 November, and began offensive patrols the next day. 43 Sqn remained at Maison Blanche until 13 March 1943, when the unit was deployed to Jemmapes,Constantine.[5]
Once in Allied hands, the airport was used by theUnited States Army Air ForcesAir Transport Command as a major transshipment hub for cargo, transiting aircraft and personnel. It functioned as a stopover en route toTafarquay Airport, nearOran, or toTunis Airport,Tunisia, on the North AfricanCairo-Dakar transport route. It also flew personnel and cargo toMarseille, Milan,Naples andPalermo.[6] In addition,Twelfth Air Force A3 SECTION, under the command of Lt. Col Carter E. Duncan 1943/44, used the airport as a command and control facility, headquartering its XII Bomber Command; XXII Tactical Air Command, and the51st Troop Carrier Wing to direct combat and support missions during theNorth African Campaign against the GermanAfrika Korps.[7] Known Allied air force combat units assigned to the airfield were:
The domestic terminal (Terminal 1) presents a capacity of 6 million passengers per year. It was inaugurated on 5 July 2006 by the PresidentAbdelaziz Bouteflika. The terminal holds 5000 car parking spaces, a taxi stand, a boarding area of 27,000 m2, and 14 passenger gates. Hall 2 in terminal 1 is dedicated to domestic flights, whereas hall 1 is dedicated to theMiddle East, andGulf airlines.
The charter 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. Its domestic traffic is 1.5 million passengers per year. Terminal 2 is equipped with 20 check-in desks with a cafeteria, tearoom and prayer room. There are 900 car parking spaces, a taxi stand, a boarding area of 5,000 m2, with 7 gates, a luggage delivery area, and lounges for premium passengers.[8]
Prior to Terminal 2's opening, Terminal 3 was used for operating domestic flights. In 2007, the terminal's use changed to pilgrimage and charter flights; but since 2019 all of the charters and pilgrimage flights have been moved to terminal 2 and the former Terminal 3 will be demolished in order to build a new terminal.[9]
Terminal 4 opened on 29 April 2019.[10] Its operations began in three different stages. The first was granted to flights bound for Paris byAir Algérie. A week later, all flights to France operated by Air Algérie were transferred to the terminal. The following week, all other international flights operated by Air Algérie were transferred to the new terminal. As of May 15, the other foreign airlines also began operations in this terminal. Terminal 4 has 120 check-in points, 84 check-in counters, nine conveyor belts and 21 telescopic gateways. With a surface area of 73 hectares which currently accommodates an additional 10 million passengers per year and is also capable of accommodatingAirbus A380 type aircraft.[citation needed]
The distance to the center ofAlgiers is 20 km using the route N5 directBab Ezzouar. A1 also connects with N5 to the airport. Taxis service the airport to downtownAlgiers.
The newHyatt Regency Hotel opened its doors on 24 April 2019, and is located across the street from the Terminal 4 with which it is connected. It is the first hotel of the Hyatt Hotels Corporation chain in Algeria. The hotel has 320 rooms and 3 restaurants, a swimming pool and a 2,200 m2 lobby, and 13 meeting rooms.[32]
On 21 November 2023, an Air Algerie Cargo Boeing 737-800 freighter aircraft, registration 7T-VJJ, performing flight 1208 toParis Charles de Gaulle airport, auto-rotated and struck its tail onto runway 05's surface, causing holes to open on the aircraft's fuselage's underbelly, with the flight's crew cancelling the take-off and returning to the apron. The captain and first officer, the aircraft's sole occupants, survived without any injuries. One of the pallets had been placed in the wrong compartment, a short investigation found out soon after.[34]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Media related toAlgiers Houari Boumediene Airport at Wikimedia Commons
