Albania’s first flight

While the Greek authorities are absorbed with the conquest of space, Turkish finance is making geopolitical flight operations as we read on  Nikodimos Pavlidis article .

“Air Albania”, the first air company has made its first flight with students and the destination was Istanbul. In connection with this important milestone, a ceremony was held at Mother Teresa International Airport in Tirana, where the turkey’s Ambassador and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama met.

Turkey’s ambassador to Tirana Murat Ahmet Yöruk described the new air carrier as a “bridge” between Turkey and Albania: “Turks and Albanians will be able to visit each other faster and cheaper.”

On the other hand Rama said on the occasion that “we could not get here without the initiative and generous support of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.”

The company, headquartered in Rinas and based at Tirana airport, has currently a single Airbus A319, but it plans to order two Airbus A320 aircraft. Turkish Airlines holds 51% in the new company. The market in Albaniahas grown over the past three decades mainly due to the demand of the large population  of Albania migrants and their families. The number of passengers flying to and from Albania has almost doubled over the past decade. In 2016, 22,000 flights and 2.2 million passengers passed through the country’s only international airport.

Sources

https://www.aviation24.be/airlines/air-albania/air-albania-the-first-national-airline-of-the-country-launches-maiden-flight/

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/air-albania-will-take-to-the-skies-this-summer-says-co-owner-06-08-2018

https://www.ptisidiastima.com/air-albania-first-flight/