Safety and security are paramount for air traffic control
AIR

A CONSIDERABLE number of flights between Europe and Africa fly over Algeria, making an efficient air-traffic system of vital importance

Air transport is vital, given Algeria’s size and the fact that some of the most important energy and mineral resources are located well off the beaten track. Tellingly, though three northern cities figure in the list of the four busiest airports – Algiers, Oran and Constantine – the number two slot is occupied by Hassi-Messaoud in the remote Oghroud region.
A considerable number of flights between Europe and Africa over-fly Algeria, which makes the need for an efficient and reliable air traffic control system and top-notch security even more vital.
All such matters are the responsibility of a single government body, under the aegis of the Ministry of Transport – the National Air Navigation Authority or ENNA.

Apart from its control centers, ENNA is present at Algeria’s 34 domestic airports. It is responsible for radio navigation aids and telecommunications, as well as fire services at airports, runway cleaning and, as ENNA’s General Manager, Mouloud Aït Si Ali, puts it: “Everything to do with the landing and take-off of aircraft.”
The national air traffic control system has been undergoing a major overhaul as part of Algeria’s program of economic renewal. An Italian company, Alenia, has been responsible for setting up radar coverage, with five transmitters in the north and on the high plateaux (south of the coast), which will be up and running this year. A second stage involves a new data treatment system, bought from the French defense contractor Thales.

Although U.S. corporations failed in the tendering for those contracts, Mr. Aït Si Ali believes there could well be future openings for them. A whole new generation of air traffic control, based on satellite coverage, is less than a decade down the road, in keeping with the priorities of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Mr. Aït Si Ali also believes that there are significant similarities between Algeria and the U.S. “We have coastal regions, mountain ranges and deserts,” he says. “So, given the constraints we operate under, there are lots of challenges to face up to, and lots of technical solutions to find.”
Human resources development is high on ENNA’s agenda.

A brand new training facility, including flight simulators, has been set up near Algiers airport. Local instructors were sent to Australia to receive specialist training, so they can now pass on their knowledge and skills in Algeria itself.
ENNA gets over 80 percent of its revenue from over-flights by international carriers, though these only account for about a quarter of all air traffic movements. So the sharp fall in international air travel in the wake of last September’s
attacks on the U.S. initially hit hard. “Fortunately, the growth in private domestic airlines, such as Khalifa Airways, has partly made up for that,” says Mr. Aït Si Ali.

He believes that over-flights will pick up again, not only because people’s fear of air travel is subsiding, but also because of the new radar coverage of Algerian airspace. “When a pilot on board knows that he is being monitored by radar, that makes him feel secure,” he says. “The same goes for the passengers. So for us, it is a way of attracting more airlines to choose our airspace.”
Mr. Aït Si Ali is convinced that ENNA can play a significant role in Algeria’s economic lift-off, citing Hassi-Messaoud as a prime example. “The area is known as Algeria’s lung,” he says, “with a great deal of economic activity. There are even direct flights to Houston, London and Paris-Le Bourget, so ENNA’s presence will act as a catalyst for
development.”