Air Albania

Air Albania
IATA ICAO Callsign
AIRALBANIA
Founded 16 May 2018 (2018-05-16)
Hubs Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza
Fleet size 1
Parent company Turkish Airlines (49%)
MDN Investment (41%)
Albcontrol (10%)
Headquarters Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza, Rinas, Albania
Key people Sinan Dilek (CEO)
Sinan Idrizi

Air Albania is the national flag carrier airline of Albania,[1][2] headquartered in Rinas, 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.[3] The remaining 50.88% is publicly traded,[3] 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.[2]

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.[4]

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 and AtlasGlobal". 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.[5]

Air Albania was officially founded on 16 May 2018 by Turkish Airlines, Albcontrol and MDN Investment.

Controversy

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.[6] 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.[3]

Destinations

The first flights of Air Albania will be first from Tirana to Istanbul. The airline will then expand its destinations to other countries in Europe and the United States. On 20 August 2018, it was confirmed that the first flight will depart in early September 2018. The first destination will be Istanbul, operated by an Airbus A319.[7]

As of September 2018 has planned flights to the following destination:

City Country Airport Notes
TiranaAlbaniaTirana International Airport Nënë TerezaHub

Fleet

As of September 2018, the Air Albania fleet comprises the following aircraft:

Air Albania Fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
C Y Total
Airbus A319-100 1 — — 160 160
Airbus A320-200 — 2 TBA Order planned[1]
Total 1 2

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Air Albania to launch flights in September". Worldbulletin News. 24 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Avioni i parë i "Air Albania" ulet në Rinas, Rama: Nisi një epokë e re" (in Albanian). Top Channel. 14 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 "Air Albania Deal Also Violated Stabilization and Association Agreement with EU". Exit.al. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  4. ↑ "Albania to Ground Airline Owned by Arrested Businessman". Balkan Insight. 14 November 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  5. ↑ "Who Is Paying for Air Albania? – Exit Explains". Exit.al. 19 June 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2018.
  6. ↑ http://www.kokpit.aero/30-milyon-dolara-resmen-ortak
  7. ↑ "Air Albania nis fluturimet së shpejti" (in Albanian). 11 May 2018.
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