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Air Albania

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Air Albania
IATA ICAO Call sign
ZB ABN[1] AIR ALBANIA[1]
Founded16 May 2018; 6 years ago (2018-05-16)
Commenced operations14 September 2018; 6 years ago (2018-09-14)[2]
HubsTirana International Airport Nënë Tereza
Fleet size2
Destinations11
HeadquartersTirana, Albania
Key peopleSinan Dilek (CEO)
Employees140
Websiteairalbania.com.al

Air Albania is the flag carrier of Albania.[3][4] The airline maintains its hub and company headquarters at the Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza in Tirana, Albania. Founded in 2018, it serves eleven destinations in Europe.

History

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Early years

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Albania's previous national flag carrier airline, Albanian Airlines, was rendered defunct when the Albanian government revoked its license to operate in Albania on 11 November 2011.[5][6][7]

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama announced on 30 March 2017 that the Albanian government was planning to create an airline in Albania in partnership with Turkish Airlines. On 8 May 2017, Rama and İlker Aycı, executive director of Turkish Airlines, released a joint press statement, declaring that an Albania-based airline was in the works, with support from Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It was later announced that Air Albania's founding was tied to the creation of an international airport in Vlorë, also planned in cooperation with the Turkish government. Rama unveiled the name of the new airline, Air Albania, on 21 November 2017.[8]

Air Albania was founded on 16 May 2018 by a consortium led by the Albanian and Turkish governments under a public–private partnership. Turkish Airlines, a founding partner, owns 49.12% of Air Albania.[9] The remaining 50.88% is publicly traded,[9] currently split between Albcontrol, a corporation owned by the Albanian government, with roughly 10%, and MDN Investment, a privately held company in Albania, with roughly 41% of shares.[6] Albania's national competition authority cleared the airline's creation in September 2018.[10] An A319 on lease from Turkish Airlines operated the airline's maiden flight in April 2019.[citation needed]

Controversy behind the airline's founding erupted when it was discovered that founding partner MDN Investment had been founded nine days prior, on 7 May 2018. Turkish Airlines contributed 30 million dollars in their start-up.[11] Moreover, on 16 May 2018, the Albanian government had given control of the land on which the Tirana International Airport was built to Albcontrol in order to participate in the public-private partnership. Due to lack of public comment, Albania may have violated the Stabilisation and Association Agreement it had signed during its accession process to the European Union.[9]

Developments since 2020

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The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) granted Air Albania a Third Country Operator (TCO) certificate on 8 May 2020,[12] permitting Air Albania to operate flights between Albania and the European Union. In September 2021, the airline added a third aircraft to its fleet for the first time.[13]

On 9 September 2022, the Albanian authorities suspended the airline's business license as the airline failed to provide necessary documentation; however, it was allowed to continue all flight operations.[14][15]

On 14 September 2022, Albanian authorities reactivated the business license as the airline provided all the necessary documentation and is continuing its operations.[16]

Destinations

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Air Albania flies to the following destinations:

Country City Airport Notes Ref.
Albania Tirana Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza Hub [17]
Kukës Kukës International Airport Zayed Seasonal [18]
Italy Bologna Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport [19]
Milan Milan Malpensa Airport [17]
Pisa Pisa International Airport [19]
Verona Verona Villafranca Airport [19]
Switzerland
France
Germany 		Basel
Mulhouse
Freiburg 		EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg Seasonal [18]
Turkey Ankara Ankara Airport [20]
Antalya Antalya Airport Seasonal [21]
Istanbul Istanbul Airport [17][22]
İzmir İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport [23]

Air Albania has a codeshare agreement with and full support of Turkish Airlines.[24]

Fleet

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A former Air Albania Airbus A319-100
A former Air Albania Boeing 737-800 wearing an older livery

Current fleet

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As of January 2024, Air Albania operates the following aircraft:[25]

Air Albania Fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Airbus A320-200 2[26] — 8 172 180
Total 2 2

Former aircraft

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In the past, Air Albania has operated the following aircraft types:[citation needed]

Aircraft naming

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The airline names aircraft after Albanians who have contributed to Albanian culture and society, such as Lasgushi (Airbus A319-100), Migjeni (Airbus A320-200) and Fishta (Airbus A320-200).[28][29]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "JO 7340.2J - Contractions - Including Change: Chapter 3. ICAO Aircraft Company/Telephony/Three-Letter Designator and U.S. Special Telephony/Call Signs" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 10 October 2019. pp. 1, 3, 57. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 August 2020. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Air Albania started operation Tirana-Istanbul". Dailysabah. 14 September 2018. p. 1. Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  3. ^ Prisco, Jacopo (2024-02-27). "The world's smallest flag carrier airlines". CNN. Retrieved 2024-06-11.
  4. ^ "Air Albania, the Balkan country's new flag carrier cleared for take-off by regulator". Reuters.
  5. ^ "Air Albania to launch flights in September". Worldbulletin News. 24 August 2018. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Avioni i parë i "Air Albania" ulet në Rinas, Rama: Nisi një epokë e re" (in Albanian). Top Channel. 14 September 2018. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  7. ^ "Albania to Ground Airline Owned by Arrested Businessman". Balkan Insight. 14 November 2011. Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Who Is Paying for Air Albania? – Exit Explains". Exit.al. 19 June 2018. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  9. ^ a b c "Air Albania Deal Also Violated Stabilization and Association Agreement with EU". Exit.al. 8 August 2018. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  10. ^ "ANALYSIS: Airline start-ups and failures 2018". FlightGlobal. 19 December 2018. Archived from the original on 28 September 2020.
  11. ^ "THY 30 milyon dolara resmen Air Albania'ya ortak". Archived from the original on 2018-09-16. Retrieved 2018-09-16.
  12. ^ "Air Albania secures European TCO authorisation". ch-aviation. Archived from the original on 24 May 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Air Albania adds third aircraft to fleet - report". SeeNews. Archived from the original on 9 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
  14. ^ ch-aviation.com - Air Albania's business license suspended Archived 2022-09-10 at the Wayback Machine 9 September 2022
  15. ^ aerotelegraph.com - "Air Albania has issues with state authorities over ownership" Archived 2022-09-20 at the Wayback Machine (German) 13 September 2022
  16. ^ "Search for "Air Albania" license". qkb.gov.al.
  17. ^ a b c "Destinations of Air Albania". Air Albania. Archived from the original on 2019-04-19. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  18. ^ a b "AIR ALBANIA 3Q23 KUKES NETWORK EXPANSION". Aeroroutes. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  19. ^ a b c "Air Albania reopens to Bologna, Pisa Verona". italiavola. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
  20. ^ "AIR ALBANIA official website, adds Turkish's capital city as their new route, TURKEY NETWORK EXPANSION". AirAlbania.
  21. ^ "AIR ALBANIA 3Q22 TURKEY NETWORK EXPANSION". Aeroroutes. Archived from the original on 1 June 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  22. ^ Barnes, Vivian F. (2024-08-03). "Air Albania: Navigating the Balkan skies with Albania's flagship airline". aviationnepal.com. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  23. ^ "Air Albania Krenaria e Shqipërisë". www.airalbania.com.al. Retrieved 2024-03-08.
  24. ^ "Codeshare (Partner) Flights". Turkish Airlines. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  25. ^ "Air Albania: the second A320 in flight". italiavola. April 2023. Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  26. ^ "Air Albania adds two Airbus aircraft to fleet". SeeNews. Retrieved 4 May 2023.
  27. ^ "Air Albania retires only A319". ch-aviation. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
  28. ^ "Lasgushi 'rikthehet' në Shqipëri. Air Albania nis sërish fluturimet". konica.al (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  29. ^ "Migjeni është gati për Tiranë', Rama jep lajmin për avionin e ri: Ja kur i nis fluturimet". dosja.al (in Albanian). 28 September 2019. Archived from the original on 29 September 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
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