Air Express Algeria grows Beech 1900D, Let fleet

Oil and gas industry air service provider Air Express Algeria (Hassi Messaoud) has secured three aircraft on lease from ACIA Aero, the regional aircraft specialist lessor announced in a statement. The deliveries earlier this month included one Beech 1900D (msn UE-379) and one Let 410 (msn 3001). A further B1900D is scheduled for delivery in March. Including the new aircraft, Air Express Algeria now operates eight Beech 1900Ds and six Let-410 UVP-E20s, Frans Meyer, Director of Operations, confirmed to ch-aviation. “We are busy shuffling the LET and 1900 fleet. Some ZS- call signs are being replaced with 7T- registrations, with eight B1900Ds and six Lets as a net result,” he said. Based in Hassi Messaoud, the privately-held carrier specialises in personnel transport, medical evacuations, aerial work, VIP transport, and light cargo for Algeria’s oil and gas industry. It rates its 18-seat LET aircraft as particularly suited to the rough desert terrain and short, unpaved runways at oil sites. According to its LinkedIn page, Air Express Algeria is approved by the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP). Its maintenance centre is approved by the Algerian civil aviation authority (Direction de l’Aviation Civile et de la météorologie – DACM), the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and the (South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA). Meanwhile, ACIA said its latest transaction with Air Express Algeria brought its total portfolio of aircraft operating in Algeria to nine.