Air Algerie talks on Sunday: transport ministry

Air Algerie will hold talks Sunday with cabin crew, Algeria's transport ministry said, after a four-day strike this week left hundreds of holidaymakers stranded. A pay dispute led to the cancellation of dozens of Air Algerie flights during the industrial action which ended Thursday evening after the government intervened. Staff agreed to return to work after Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia promised to lift sanctions against the strikers and to scrap a decision by the state-run airline to make some of them redundant. "Cabin crew have resumed work, today saw the lifting of sanctions and direct negotiations will begin on Sunday," APS news agency quoted the transport ministry saying in a statement on Saturday. "The situation has practically returned to normal across Air Algerie's services," the ministry added. The strike which began Monday came at a time when many French-based Algerian expatriates make their annual trip to see relatives and left hundreds stranded at airports in the two countries. Airline chief Mohamed Salah Boultify had offered a 20 percent pay increase to staff but cabin crew demanded a 106-percent hike. Air Algerie employs about 9,000 staff and flies to more than 70 destinations. In February the company announced a $700 million dollar (495 million euro) investment to increase its number of carriers from 42.