Airport News

Air Algerie has lost contact with an aircraft travelling from Burkina Faso in west Africa carrying a total of 116 people on board.

Aviation authorities said flight AH5017 disappeared from radar about 50 minutes after take-off from Ouagadougou, Algeria's state news agency reported on Thursday. 

The airline said: "In keeping with procedures, Air Algerie has launched its emergency plan."

The plane is chartered from Spanish airline Swiftair, who said 110 passengers and six crew are believed to be on board the plane.

The company said in a statement posted on its website that the passenger jet took off from Burkina Faso at 01.17am local time and was supposed to land in Algiers at 05.10am local time but never reached its destination.

It said the six crew members includes two pilots and four flight attendants.

An Algerian official confirmed to Reuters the aircraft is an Airbus A320. Flight AH 5017 flies the Ouagadougou-Algiers route four times per week.

The plane's flight path was not immediately clear. Ouagadougou is in a nearly straight line south of Algiers, passing over Mali. 

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