Air Albania


Air Albania is the national flag carrier airline of Albania. The airline's hub is at Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza, where the airline's corporate headquarters are also located.
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. The remaining 50.88% is publicly traded, 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.

History

Albania's previous national flag carrier airline, Albanian Airlines was rendered defunct when the Albanian government had revoked its license to operate in Albania on 11 November 2011.
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama had announced in an interview with Enver Robelli on 30 March 2017 that the Albanian government was planning to create an "airline in Albania with cooperation from 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 revealed that Air Albania's foundation was also tied to the creation of an international airport in Vlorë, also planned in cooperation with the Turkish government. Rama had unveiled the name of the new airline, Air Albania, on 21 November 2017.
Air Albania was officially founded on 16 May 2018 by Turkish Airlines, Albcontrol, and MDN Investment.
The European Union Aviataion Safety Administration granted Air Albania a Third Country Operator certificate on 8 May 2020. This means Air Albania is now permitted to operate flights between Albania and the EU.

Controversies

Controversy behind the airline's founding erupted when it was discovered that founding partner MDN Investment had been founded 9 days prior, on 7 May 2018. Turkish Airlines contributed 30 million dollars in their start-up. 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.

Destinations

As of September 2019, the airline flies to the following destinations:
CountryCityAirportNotes
AlbaniaTiranaTirana International Airport Nënë Tereza
ItalyBergamoOrio al Serio International Airport
ItalyBolognaBologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport
ItalyMilanMilan Malpensa Airport
ItalyPisaGalileo Galilei Airport
ItalyRomeLeonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport
ItalyVeronaVerona Villafranca Airport
TurkeyIstanbulIstanbul Airport
United KingdomLondonLondon Stansted Airport

Fleet

As of September 2019, the Air Albania fleet comprises the following aircraft:

Aircraft naming

In recognition to notable Albanian personalities, who have made positive contributions to the Albanian culture and society, the airline names each aircraft after them such as Lasgushi and Migjeni.