Tassili Airlines () is an Algerian passenger

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

, based in

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

, owned by

Sonatrach Sonatrach (; ) is the national state-owned oil company of Algeria. Founded in 1963, it is known today to be the largest company in Africa with 154 subsidiaries, and often referred as the first African oil "major". In 2021, Sonatrach was the seven ...

, the national state-owned oil company of Algeria. Founded in 1998, Tassili now provides scheduled services out of Houari Boumedienne Airport, as well as its charter flights and helicopter services, that were originally mainly for the Algerian oil industry.

History

Tassili Airlines was originally established in 1998 as a joint venture between

Air Algérie Air Algérie SpA (, ) is the flag carrier of Algeria, with its head office in the El-Djazair office block in Algiers. With flights operating mostly from Houari Boumedienne Airport in Algiers and Ahmed Ben Bella Airport in Oran, Air Algérie op ...

(49%) and the

company (51%), both of which are government-owned. Commercial services were launched on 8 April 1999, with a flight from

Hassi Messaoud Hassi Messaoud () is a town in Ouargla Province, eastern Algeria, located southeast of Ouargla. As of 2008 it had a population of 45,147 people, up from 40,360 in 1998, and an annual population growth rate of 1.1%, the lowest in the province. O ...

to Algiers. In April 2005, Air Algérie has sold 25% of its shares in the airlines, Sonatrach thus becoming the majority shareholder. Tassili Airlines became a member of AFRAA in 2014, since when it has continued its expansion of regional and international routes.

Corporate affairs

Ownership

The airline is

state-owned State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...

, being 76% owned by

and 24% owned by Air Algérie.

Business trends

The annual accounts of the state-owned Tassili Airlines do not seem to have been published. A few recently available figures (largely from AFRAA reports) are shown below (for years ending 31 December):

Destinations

As of December 2015, Tassili Airlines offers scheduled flights to the following destinations: ;

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

* Adrar - Touat-Cheikh Sidi Mohamed Belkebir Airport *

- Houari Boumedienne Airport (base) *

Annaba Annaba (), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River and is in the Annaba Province. With a population of about 263,65 ...

- Rabah Bitat Airport * Batna - Mostépha Ben Boulaid Airport *

Béchar Béchar () is the capital city of Béchar Province, Algeria. It is also a commune, coextensive with Béchar District, of Béchar Province. In 2008 the city had a population of 165,627, up from 134,954 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 2.1% ...

- Boudghene Ben Ali Lotfi Airport * Constantine - Mohamed Boudiaf International Airport * Djanet - Djanet Inedbirene Airport *

Ghardaïa Ghardaïa (, ) is the capital city of Ghardaïa Province, Algeria. The commune of Ghardaïa has a population of 93,423 according to the 2008 census, up from 87,599 in 1998, with an annual growth rate of 0.7%. It is located in northern-central A ...

- Noumérat - Moufdi Zakaria Airport *

- Oued Irara Airport *

Illizi Illizi (Amazigh language: Ilizi) is an Algerian town and Communes of Algeria, commune, coextensive with Illizi District, situated in the south-eastern part of Algeria, and capital of Illizi Province. According to the 2008 census it is the largest ...

Takhamalt Airport Takhamalt Airport , also known as Illizi Airport, is an airport serving Illizi, Algeria. It is northeast of the city. Airlines and destinations References External links Google Maps - Illizi
* * Airports in Algeria Buildings ...

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

- Ahmed Ben Bella Airport * Setif - Ain Arnat Airport *

Tamanrasset Tamanrasset (; ), also known as Tamanghasset or Tamenghest, is an oasis city and capital of Tamanrasset Province in southern Algeria, in the Ahaggar Mountains. It is the chief city of the Algerian Tuareg. It is located at an altitude of . As of ...

Tamanrasset Airport Tamanrasset (; ), also known as Tamanghasset or Tamenghest, is an oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment

Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran and is the capital of Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the port of Rachgoun. It had a population of ...

- Zenata – Messali El Hadj Airport *

Tindouf Tindouf () is the main town, and a Communes of Algeria, commune in Tindouf Province, Algeria, close to the Algeria–Mauritania border, Mauritanian, Algeria–Western Sahara border, Western Saharan and Algeria–Morocco border, Moroccan borders. Th ...

- Tindouf Airport ;

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport , also known as Roissy Airport, is the primary international airport serving Paris, the capital city of France. The airport opened in 1974 and is located in Roissy-en-France, northeast of Paris. It is named for ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

;

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

- Istanbul Airport (Charter)

Fleet

The Tassili Airlines fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of August 2019): The airline also owns several types of smaller aircraft, including

Beechcraft 1900 The Beechcraft 1900 is a U.S made twin-engine turboprop regional airliner manufactured by Beechcraft. It is also used as a freight aircraft and corporate transport, and by several governmental and military organizations. With customers favoring ...

, Cessna 208 Caravan and Pilatus PC-6, as well as

Bell 206 The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter progr ...

helicopters.

Accidents and incidents

*On 28 January 2004, at around 21:00 local time, a Tassili Airlines

( registered 7T-VIN) crashed 10 kilometres short of Ghardaïa Airport where it had been scheduled to land completing a chartered flight from Hassi R'Mel Airport. The pilot Mebarki Mohamed had to abort the landing approach because a preceding aircraft had not cleared the runway in time. During maneuvering for reaching the approach path again, the aircraft hit the ground with its right wing, which was subsequently torn off. Of the two passengers and three crew members on board, all but the co-pilot survived the crash. *On 10 August 2017, a Tassili Airlines Bell 206 was destroyed by impact and post-impact fire when it crashed on an empty lot at Dekakna, about 5 km southwest of Douera, Algeria. All four on board are believed to have died in the accident. The accident happened in daylight (1020L) and apparently in VMC. According to press reports the helicopter was being used to film the new railway line between Zeralda and Algiers.FlightGlobal

References

External links

*
Official website

Official website
(Archive) {{authority control 1998 establishments in Algeria Government-owned airlines Government-owned companies of Algeria Airlines of Algeria Airlines established in 1998 Companies of Algeria Companies based in Algiers Algerian brands