Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza

Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza (Albanian: Aeroporti Ndërkombëtar i Tiranës Nënë Tereza, IATA: TIA, ICAO: LATI), often referred to as the Rinas International Airport, is the main international airport of the Republic of Albania. It serves the city of Tirana, its metropolitan area, and surrounding region in the county of Tirana.

Tirana International Airport
Mother Teresa

Aeroporti Ndërkombëtar i Tiranës
Nënë Tereza
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorTirana International Airport SHPK and China Everbright Limited
ServesTirana, Albania
LocationRinas, Albania
Hub for
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL108 ft / 33 m
Coordinates41°24′53″N 19°43′14″E
Websitetirana-airport.com
Map
TIA
Location in Europe, the Mediterranean and Albania
TIA
TIA (Mediterranean)
TIA
TIA (Europe)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
17/35 2,750 9,022 Asphalt
Statistics (2019)
Passengers3,338,147[1]
Passenger change 18–1913%
Aircraft movements28,270[1]
Movements change 18–1911%
Source: Albanian AIP at EUROCONTROL[2] Landings.com[3]

The airport is named in honour of the Albanian Roman Catholic nun and missionary, Mother Teresa. It is located 6 nautical miles (11 kilometres; 6.9 miles) northwest of Tirana, in the municipality of Krujë, Durrës County.[4][5] It offers international connections primarily within Europe, whereas the most frequent routes are to Milan, Rome, London and Istanbul.

The airport serves as the main hub for the country's flag carrier, Air Albania and Albawings. It serves as a focus city for Blue Panorama Airlines and Wizz Air. It is the only airport in Albania with regularly scheduled passenger service, and the eighth busiest Balkan airport.

History

Early history

The airport was constructed during a period of two years, from 1955 to 1957. However, Tirana had commercial airline services before. Domestic aviation started in 1926 when German airline Adria-Aero-Lloyd obtained a monopoly for all domestic air routes in the country and begin servicing Tirana, Shkodër, Korçë and Vlorë. These operations proved unprofitable, and the airline sold its rights to Italian company Ala Littoria which opened regular routes in 1935 between Tirana to Shkodër, Kukës, Peshkopia, Kuçova, Vlorë, and Gjirokastra.[6] In 1938, the Yugoslav carrier Aeroput introduced regular commercial flights linking Tirana with Belgrade, Serbia with a landing in Dubrovnik, Croatia.[7]

After the end of the Second World War and installation of an isolationist communist regime in Albania, air transportation was rare. From 1944 and 1948 there was a service to Belgrade, but after the break of relations with Yugoslavia, until 1953, there was only a twice-a-month connection to Budapest operated by Soviet-Hungarian company Maszovlet.[6] From 1953 and 1955 there was no air service, until February 1955 when a route to Moscow was inaugurated, followed thereafter to other Eastern-European capitals. In the 1970s, Tirana was one of the first European cities to be served by China's CAAC Airlines, with a weekly flight to Beijing via Bucharest and Tehran. In the late 1980s there were six airlines flying to Tirana, with a total of nine round-trips per week.[6]

With the collapse of communism in Albania in 1991 and subsequent liberalisation of travel restrictions abroad for Albanians, the number of airlines operating at the airport increased rapidly. In 1999 there were 8,249 flights and 356,823 passengers, seven times more than in 1991.[6]

Post-communism

The air traffic equipment and facilities of the airport have been heavily modernised, following investments by Tirana International Airport SHPK, a consortium led by Hochtief AirPort. Hochtief assumed management of the airport on 23 April 2005, for a 20-year concession period.[8]

The concession included the construction of a completely new passenger terminal and various infrastructure improvements, among them the construction of a new access road, new parking lots, and a bridge over the old airport access road.[9] The expansion resulted in an increased number of passengers per annum, estimated at 1.5 million passengers for 2009.[10][11] The number of passengers effectively increased to more than 1.5 million in 2010.[12]

The terminal building and its second expansion, the cargo building, its landscaping, and its carpark canopies were designed by Malaysian architect Hin Tan of Hintan.[13]

In December 2016, the Airport announced that it has served 2 million passengers during 2016, reaching its second milestone.[14]

Ownership

As of 2017, China Everbright Limited is the sole owner of Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza. After reaching an agreement with the Albanian Government to end its monopoly on international flights from Albania, Hochtief AirPort sold the operating of Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza to China Everbright Limited,[15] a company specializing in asset management, direct investment, brokerage and investment banking.[16]

Airlines and destinations
AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Athens
Air Albania Bergamo (begins 15 July 2020),[17] Bologna,[18] Istanbul,[19] Pisa (begins 13 July 2020),[20] Milan–Malpensa,[18] Rome–Fiumicino,[18] Verona (begins 14 July 2020)[21]
Air Serbia Belgrade
Albawings Bari, Düsseldorf, Florence, Frankfurt,[22] Hamburg,[22] Perugia, Pisa, Rimini, Venice
Seasonal: London–Stansted
Alitalia Rome–Fiumicino
AlMasria Universal Airlines Seasonal charter: Hurghada, Sharm El Sheikh[23]
Austrian Airlines Vienna
Belavia Seasonal charter: Minsk[24]
Blue Panorama Airlines Ancona, Bergamo, Bologna, Genoa, Milan–Malpensa, Rome–Fiumicino, Turin, Verona
British Airways London–Heathrow (begins 3 July 2020)
easyJet Milan–Malpensa
Seasonal: London–Gatwick (begins 24 July 2020)[25]
easyJet Switzerland Geneva
Edelweiss Air Seasonal: Zürich[26]
Enter Air Seasonal charter: Gdańsk,[27] Katowice,[27] Kraków[28] Poznań,[27] Prague,[29] Riga,[30] Warsaw–Chopin,[31] Warsaw−Modlin,[27][32] Wrocław[27]
Eurowings Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart
flynas Seasonal: Riyadh (begins 2 September 2020)[33]
Israir Seasonal charter: Tel Aviv[34]
LOT Polish Airlines Seasonal: Gdańsk (begins 5 July 2020),[35] Katowice (begins 5 July 2020),[36] Warsaw–Chopin (begins 4 July 2020)[37]
Lufthansa Frankfurt
Norwegian Air Shuttle Seasonal: Copenhagen,[38] Helsinki (begins 1 July 2020),[39] Oslo–Gardermoen
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Seasonal charter: Antalya[40]
Scandinavian Airlines Seasonal charter: Copenhagen (begins 5 September 2020), Oslo–Gardermoen,[41] Stavanger,[41] Stockholm–Arlanda,[42] Trondheim[41]
SkyUp Seasonal: Kiev–Boryspil
Smartwings Seasonal: Prague
Smartwings Poland Seasonal charter: Katowice[27]
SunExpress Seasonal charter: Antalya[40]
Transavia France Paris–Orly
TUI fly Belgium Brussels
Ural Airlines Seasonal charter: Moscow–Domodedovo[43]
Wizz Air Bari (begins 15 July 2020),[44] Basel/Mulhouse (begins 18 July 2020),[44] Beauvais (begins 15 July 2020),[44] Bergamo,[45] Berlin-Schönefeld (begins 15 July 2020),[44] Bologna,[45] Budapest, Catania (begins 23 July 2020),[44] Charleroi (begins 1 July 2020),[44] Dortmund, Eindhoven (begins 2 July 2020),[44] Hahn (begins 16 July 2020),[44] Hamburg (begins 24 July 2020),[44] Heraklion (begins 17 July 2020),[44] Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden (begins 15 July 2020),[44] London–Luton, Memmingen, Milan–Malpensa (begins 16 July 2020),[44] Pisa,[45] Prague (begins 3 July 2020),[44] Rhodes (begins 16 July 2020),[44] Treviso (begins 15 July 2020),[44] Turin (begins 16 July 2020),[44] Verona,[45] Vienna

Statistics
Air Albania national flag carrier in Tirana
Tirana Airport terminal interior
Tirana Airport terminal exterior
Alitalia Airbus A320 in Tirana
Albawings Boeing 737 in Tirana
Rinas Airport in 1978

Traffic
Passenger, aircraft operations and cargo statistics at Nënë Tereza Airport
Year Passengers Change Aircraft Operations Change Cargo
(metric tons)		 Change
2005785,00020.77%15,400N.A.N.A.N.A.
2006906,10315.43%15,856 2.96%2,435N.A.
20071,105,77022.04%18,25815.15%3,83257.37%
20081,267,04114.58%19,194 5.13%2,49734.84%
20091,394,68810.07%20,064 4.53%2,265 9.29%
20101,536,82210.19%20,768 3.51%2,355 3.97%
20111,817,07318.24%22,98810.69%2,65612.78%
20121,665,331 8.35%20,52810.70%1,87529.41%
20131,757,342 5.53%19,942 2.85%2,16415.41%
20141,810,305 3.02%17,928 3.02%2,32413.53%
20151,997,044 10.3%20,876 16.4%2,2294.1%[5]
20162,195,100 9.9%22,352 7.1%2,2001%[46]
20172,630,338 19.8%24,336 9%2,2663%[1]
20182,947,172 12%25,462 3%2,245 0.9%[47]
20193,338,147 13%28,270 11%2,372 5%[48]
2020 (01.01-31.05)526,461 52,2%5,118 49,3%720.7 24,7%[49]

Busiest Routes
Most frequent routes at Tirana Airport
Rank Destination Airport(s) Number of
Passengers
2019[50]		 Top carriers
1 Milan MXP, BGY 485.615 Air Albania, Blue Panorama Airlines, easyJet
2 Rome FCO 334.695 Air Albania, Alitalia, Blue Panorama Airlines
3 Istanbul IST, SAW 253.010 Air Albania, Pegasus Airlines
4 London LGW, LTN, STN 223.800 Albawings, British Airways, Wizz Air
5 Vienna VIE 187.257 Austrian Airlines, Wizz Air
6 Bologna BLQ 168.872 Air Albania, Blue Panorama Airlines
7 Pisa PSA 161.412 Albawings
8 Verona VRN 140.293 Blue Panorama Airlines
9 Frankfurt FRA 126.771 Lufthansa
10 Athens ATH 125.925 Aegean Airlines
Routes by country
Rank Destination Number of
Passengers
2019[51]
1 Italy 1.688.839
2 Turkey 315.461
3 Germany 243.219
4 United Kingdom 223.800
5 Austria 187.257
6 Greece 125.925
7 Poland 102.944

Top Carriers
RankCarrierMarket share (2019[52])
1 Blue Panorama Airlines21%
2 Ernest Airlines17%
3 Albawings10%
4 Alitalia7%
5 Wizz Air6%

Road transport
Taxi rank at the airport
SH60 linking Tirana Airport with SH2 Tirana-Durrës Highway

The airport is linked with motorway SH60 (10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away) to SH2 Durres -Tirana access road. Taxis and car rental facilities are available at the airport. The journey from Tirana to the airport takes 20–25 minutes. Many taxi companies offer a flat rate for to/from Airport trips (the rate is usually 1,500 ALL.)

Bus

An airport bus, located outside Arrivals terminal, leaves on the hour every hour (7am to 11pm), to the city centre, and the trip takes around 30 minutes.[53] The shuttle runs an hourly service between the Airport and the back of the Opera building in the centre of Tirana. The single fare is 300 Albanian Lek. From Durres the single fare is 480 Albanian Lek.

Incidents and accidents
  • October 3, 2006: Turkish Airlines Flight 1476, flying from Tirana to Istanbul, was hijacked by Hakan Ekinci in Greek airspace. The aircraft, with 107 passengers and six crew on board, transmitted two coded hijack signals which were picked up by the Greek air force; the flight was intercepted by military aircraft and landed safely at Brindisi, Italy.
  • June 30, 2016: Three armed and masked people entered the cargo terminal, where they stole a huge amount of money that was to be transported abroad on airplanes. The amount of cash could have been up to 3 million euros. The incident caused national security concerns.[54][55]
  • April 9, 2019: An Austrian Airlines flight headed to Vienna was delayed for 3 hours, following an armed robbery. The aircraft’s engines were running, when three men wearing masks and military fatigues stepped up to the belly of the plane, stealing 6 million euros. One of the robbers was shot dead in an exchange of fire with the police about one kilometre from the airport.[56]

See also

References
  2. "EAD Basic - Error Page". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  3. Airport record for Nënë Tereza/Rinas International Airport at Landings.com. Retrieved 1 August 2013
  4. Wragg, David (November 2009). The World's Top 500 Airports (2nd ed.). Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset BA22 7JJ, UK: Haynes Holdings. p. 13. ISBN 978 184425 632 7.CS1 maint: location (link)
  5. "Facts and Figures about Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza - Tirana International Airport".
  6. Historical Dictionary of Albania by Robert Elsie, pages 5 and 6
  7. "DRUSTVO ZA VAZDUSNI SAOBRACAJ A D – AEROPUT (1927-1948)". europeanairlines.no. Retrieved 17 June 2010. In addition a new air service (No.2008) to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia's small narbour(sic, probably neighbor), Albania, was opened. From August Aeroput flew from Beograd with a landing at Ragusa to Tirana, the capital of Albania.
  8. "HOCHTIEF AirPort Signs Concession Agreement for Tirana Airport". hochtief.com. Retrieved 15 October 2004. The agreement, signed today in the presence of the Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano in Tirana, seals the airport takeover in the context of a BOOT (Build Own Operate Transfer) concession with a duration of 20 years.
  9. "HOCHTIEF AirPort Signs Concession Agreement for Tirana Airport". hochtief.com. Retrieved 15 October 2004. Construction work for a new terminal is to commence right from the first year of operation.
  10. "Tirana International Airport". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  11. "Tirana International Airport, Albania". HOCHTIEF. Archived from the original on 23 April 2011.
  12. "Facts and Figures about Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza". tirana-airport.com. Traffic Results: 2010 Passengers - 1,536,822
  13. "TIRANA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT" (PDF). tirana-airport.com. p. 9. The tall, bright and spacious building, designed by the renowned Malaysian architect Hin Tan, is a symbol of Albania's new self-confidence.
  14. "Tirana International Airport reaches two millionth passenger milestone". ata.gov.al. Retrieved 3 December 2016. Tirana International Airport (TIA) announced on Friday the achievement of two major passenger traffic milestones in welcoming its two millionth passenger and recording the largest ever number of customers served at the airport.
  15. "Shqiptarja.com - Aeroporti i Rinasit kalon 100% tek kompania kineze". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  16. "irasia.com - China Everbright Limited". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  17. https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/289927/air-albania-expands-italy-service-from-late-march-2020/?highlight=air%20albania
  18. "Air Albania launches Italy service in late-Sep 2019". routesonline.com. 6 August 2019.
  19. "Air Albania launches flights from New Istanbul Airport". DailyNews. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  20. https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/289927/air-albania-expands-italy-service-from-late-march-2020/?highlight=air%20albania
  21. https://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/289927/air-albania-expands-italy-service-from-late-march-2020/?highlight=air%20albania
  22. Liu, Jim (27 May 2020). "Albawings moves new German routes launch to June 2020". routesonline.com.
  23. "Albanian tourism company operates charter flights to Sharm, Hurghada". egypttoday.com.
  24. "freight monitor". online.joinup.ua.
  25. Liu, Jim (31 December 2019). "easyJet S20 new routes as of 27DEC19". routesonline.com.
  26. "Winter schedule valid until 28.03.2020" (PDF). Tirana International Airport. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
  27. "air and charter tickets". itaka.pl.
  28. "Charter flights". tui.pl.
  29. http://www.tiranatimes.com/?p=117119
  30. "In summer, Riga Airport offers record number of destinations and exciting news". Routesonline.
  31. "Charter flights". charterflights.r.pl. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
  32. "TUI Poland rozpoczęło loty czarterowe z Modlina".
  33. "flynas S20 Network Expansion". Routesonline. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  34. Liu, Jim (11 May 2018). "Israir adds Tirana charter from late-June 2018". Routesonline. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  35. "LOT will launch 130 connections to several dozen European resorts". businessinsider.com.pl. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  36. "LOT will launch 130 connections to several dozen European resorts". businessinsider.com.pl. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  37. "LOT sezonowo poleci z Warszawy do Rijeki i Tirany". pasazer.com. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  38. Liu, Jim (5 February 2019). "Norwegian expands Danish network in S19". Routesonline. UBM (UK) Ltd. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  39. https://www.finavia.fi/en/newsroom/2019/norwegian-launches-new-route-helsinki-tirana-june-2020
  40. "Timetable" (PDF). tirana-airport.com.
  41. "Flight". www.apollo.no.
  42. "Flight". www.apollo.se.
  43. "Timetable". b2b.tui.ru.
  44. "Wizz Air annonces a new base in Tirana". anna.aero. 7 June 2020.
  45. https://storiedieccellenza.it/wizz-air-annuncia-5-nuove-rotte-dallitalia-a-tirana/
  46. "Facts and Figures about Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza - Tirana International Airport". www.tirana-airport.com.
  47. "Statistics" (PDF). www.instat.gov.al.
  48. "Air Traffic Report 2019" (PDF). Tirana International Airport. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  49. "Statistikat e transportit Maj 2020" (PDF). INSTAT. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  50. "Route Report 2019" (PDF). Tirana International Airport. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  51. "Route Report 2019" (PDF). Tirana International Airport. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  52. "Market Share by Air Carriers Report 2019" (PDF). Tirana International Airport. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
  53. "Bus - Tirana International Airport". www.tirana-airport.com. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  54. Times, Tirana (30 June 2016). "Spectacular airport robbery raises national security concerns". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  55. "Huge amount of money stolen at the Tirana Airport". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  56. https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-albania-robbery/albanian-police-kill-gunman-in-airport-cash-heist-idUKKCN1RL243

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