Algeria recalls envoys to Holland, Belgium

Algeria recalled its envoys to Belgium and Holland on Sunday after an Algerian airliner was held in Brussels on Friday over a legal dispute between the country’s flag carrier with a Dutch company.

“Algeria’s ambassadors to Holland and Belgium have been recalled for consultations,” Algeria’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Sunday.

The decision comes in response to the grounding of an Air Algerie plane in Brussels airport by Belgian authorities over a legal dispute with the Dutch K’AIR BV air transport company.

Air Algerie issued a statement on Friday saying that one of its airliners was held in Brussels airport over a dispute with the Dutch K’AIR BV, despite the continuation of legal proceedings.

According to the ministry, the dispute is over a contract for the sale of ten out-of-service Air Algerie aircrafts to the Dutch company, a deal that was signed in 2008.

However, the Dutch side’s inability to finance the deal as agreed in the contract led the Algerian side to cancel the sale, bringing the case before a European court that ruled in favor of Dutch side.

The verdict has been appealed by the Algerian airline, local media asserted.