Tirana's Skyward Surge: Flight Connectivity in Albania's Capital Grows Exponentially
TIRANA - As the world continues to recover from the pandemic, the aviation industry is witnessing a resurgence in passenger traffic. Leading the way in Europe is Tirana, Albania, with the capital city experiencing a significant boost in-flight connectivity, especially with European destinations. Notably, flights to Albania have seen a staggering growth of 80% from 2019 to 2023, underscoring the nation's rising prominence in the European aviation landscape.
Wizz Air, recently announced the addition of ten new routes to its Albanian network. These routes include destinations such as Birmingham, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Bucharest, Sofia, Prague, Malta, Palermo, Krakow, and Chania. This expansion brings the total number of routes from Albania to over 60, further solidifying Wizz Air's position as the dominant carrier in the country.
Evelin Jeckel, Network Officer at Wizz Air, commented on the expansion, "This strategic decision reflects our commitment to meeting the growing demand of our passengers. By continuously growing our product offer, we aim to enhance their travel experience while ensuring seamless connectivity to a wider range of destinations."
Not to be outdone, Ryanair, Europe's largest airline, has unveiled a major program of new services to Albania. The airline has announced 200 weekly flights and 17 new routes as part of its winter 2023 schedule. This includes connections to major European cities such as London, Manchester, Brussels, Rome, Bologna, Venice, Pisa, Milan, Catania, Bucharest, Dusseldorf, Edinburgh, Krakow, Warsaw, Prague, Paris, and Stockholm.
Musa Kastrati, senior vice-president of Kastrati Group, representing Tirana International Airport, expressed gratitude to Ryanair for their trust in the Albanian market. He emphasized the importance of affordable and accessible air travel options, which will benefit both inbound and outbound travelers.
The recent surge in flight connectivity is a testament to Albania's growing appeal as a tourist destination and its strategic importance in the European aviation market. As airlines continue to expand their operations in Tirana, passengers can look forward to more travel options, competitive fares, and the opportunity to explore the rich cultural tapestry of Albania and beyond.
Additional information about Tirana International Airport:
Tirana International Airport now boasts direct flights to over 50 destinations across Europe. Airlines operating these routes include Aegean Airlines, Air Albania, Air Serbia, Albawings, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Easy Jet, Edelweiss, Fly Dubai, ITA Airways, LOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa, Pegasus Airlines, Swiss International, Transavia, TUI fly, and Wizz Air.
Destinations accessible from Tirana include cities such as London, Milan, Bergamo, Pisa, Rome, Bologna, Istanbul, Athens, Vienna, Verona, Bari, Treviso, Munich, Brussels, Barcelona, Turin, Dortmund, Berlin, Genoa, Frankfurt, Eindhoven, Hamburg, Memmingen, Ancona, Perugia, Abu Dhabi, Hahn, Pescara, Paris, Basel, Rimini, Catania, Cologne, Baden-Baden, Geneva, Belgrade, Budapest, Venice, Nice, Madrid, Stockholm, Lyon, Wroclaw, Warsaw, Malmo, Nuremberg, Dubai, Zurich, Florence, Sandefjord/Oslo, Naples, Dammam, Antalya, and Bodrum.
Wizz Air Announces Ten New Routes from Albania
With the newest additions to its network from Tirana, Wizz Air is expanding into UK and further strengthens connectivity in the region
Wizz Air, Albania’s largest airline and most environmentally sustainable airline globally*, announces today the addition of ten new routes to its Albanian network. New flights from Tirana to Birmingham, Edinburgh, Liverpool (UK), Bucharest (Romania) and Sofia (Bulgaria) will start in the upcoming winter season. Flights from Tirana to Malta (Malta), Prague (Czech Republic), Palermo (Italy), Krakow (Poland) and Chania (Greece) will start from March 2024. The tickets are already available at wizzair.com or on the Wizz Air's mobile app.
Flights to Edinburgh, Liverpool, Bucharest, Sofia, Prague, Palermo, Krakow and Chania will be available three times per week, while routes to Birmingham and Malta will be operated with twice-weekly flights.
The expansion brings the total number of routes from Albania to over 60, further strengthening Wizz Air’s position as the largest carrier in the country. Furthermore, the airline will be increasing the frequency of its flights between Tirana and Luton to 27 per week, adding 6 extra weekly flights to the route. Thus, nearly 30% of the added flights will be operated to UK, boosting connectivity between the countries, as well as providing passengers with greater choice and convenience of a variety of direct flights.
"I am delighted to announce that within less than a month of our recent routes announcement from Tirana, we are now further expanding our network in Albania with ten new flights. This strategic decision reflects our commitment to meeting the growing demand of our passengers. By continuously growing our product offer, we aim to enhance their travel experience while ensuring seamless connectivity to a wider range of destinations. This expansion reinforces our position as a leading airline, dedicated to creating easy and affordable travel opportunities for our passengersTop of Form”, - comments Evelin Jeckel, Network Officer at Wizz Air.
WIZZ AIR'S NEW ROUTES FROM ALBANIA
WIZZ AIR'S INCREASED FREQUENCIES FROM ALBANIA
Route from Tirana to London Luton has increased from 21 to 27 flights per week.
- *One-way price, including administration fee. One carry-on bag (max: 40x30x20cm) is included. Trolley bag and each piece of checked-in baggage is subject to additional fees. The price applies only to bookings made on wizzair.com and the WIZZ mobile app. Number of seats at indicated prices are limited.
Source 4: https://seenews.com/news/ryanair-adds-17-new-routes-from-albania-825382
June 9 (SeeNews) - Irish low-cost carrier Ryanair added 17 new routes to its winter 2023 schedule from Albania to Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom, the Tirana airport operator said.
“Albania will become the 37th country within Ryanair’s network, and will grant immediate access to key inbound tourism markets,” the Tirana airport operator said in a social media post.
Ryanair's website offers new flight dates from Tirana airport starting October 31 to London, Manchester, Brussels, Rome, Bologna, Venice, Pisa, Milan, Catania, Bucharest, Dusseldorf, Edinburgh, Krakow, Warsaw, Prague, Paris, and Stockholm.
Ryanair connects over 240 destinations in over 40 countries, according to its website.
Source 5: https://seenews.com/news/air-albania-adds-two-airbus-aircraft-to-fleet-822125
May 4 (SeeNews) - Albania's flag carrier Air Albania has added to its fleet two new airplanes on long-term lease from GA Telesis, the American lessor said.
Two Airbus A320s were delivered to Air Albania in the first quarter of 2023, GA Telesis said in a statement last week.
Air Albania now has a total of four aircraft, a company official told SeeNews via phone. Before, the air carrier operated three airplanes, according to data on its website.
The company announced plans for new aircraft in May 2022, after the addition of two destinations, Zurich and Basel, serviced from the country’s new airport in the northeastern city of Kukes.
Air Albania offers flights from the capital Tirana and Kukes to Turkey, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and the UK, according to data on its website.
Air Albania was established in 2018 as a public-private partnership between the Albanian government, local company MDN Investment and Turkish Airlines, which holds a 49% stake.
Albania tops the list of growth in flight traffic in the second week of August, among countries that are part of the Eurocontrol network. According to the latest publication by Eurocontrol, during the period of August 9-15, through the "Mother Teresa" airport, there were 80% more flights compared to the same period in 2019, which was not a pandemic year.
Meanwhile, regarding European air traffic, the past week saw a 7% increase compared to the same period in 2022. However, it still hasn't reached pre-pandemic levels caused by COVID-19, as it stands at 94% of the 2019 traffic.
The aviation industry took a severe hit due to the suspension of flights because of the coronavirus. In January 2022, Eurocontrol published forecasts for the sector's recovery over a six-year period, considering three different scenarios.
Albania was also part of these forecasts. According to Eurocontrol, in the low scenario, the growth by 2027 is projected at 1%. In the base scenario, it's 1.9%, while in the high scenario, it's expected to be 3.7%. Eurocontrol's scenarios are based on the progress of vaccination campaigns and the lifting of restrictions applied by various countries, not only in Europe but also worldwide.
