Air Algerie plane ‘never reached airport’

File picture: Joel Saget

File picture: Joel Saget

Published Jul 24, 2014

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Algiers/Madrid - Spanish private airline company Swiftair on Thursday said it had lost contact with one of its airplanes operated by Air Algerie with 110 passengers and six crew members on board.

The company said in a notice posted on its website that the aircraft took off from Burkina Faso at 01h17 local time and was supposed to land in Algiers at 05h10 local time, but never reached its destination.

The plane is an Airbus A320, an Algerian official said on Thursday.

Air Algerie said it lost contact with the plane nearly an hour after takeoff from Burkina Faso on Thursday.

“Air navigation services have lost contact with an Air Algerie plane Thursday flying from Ouagadougou to Algiers, 50 minutes after takeoff,” the airline said, cited by national news agency APS.

It said the company initiated an “emergency plan” in the search for Flight AH5017, which flies the four-hour passenger route four times a week. - Reuters and AFP

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