TIRANA, April 19 – Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air launched direct Tirana-London flights this week, offering a new cheaper opportunity to British tourists and a community of more than 13,000 Albanian residents in the UK.
The new destination offered by Wizz Air is scheduled for three times a week, linking Tirana International Airport to Luton Airport.
“We are delighted with the new service operated by Wizz Air. This will be of great help to many Albanians who live in or near to London, and will offer new opportunities for tourists to explore Albania more fully,” said Rolf Castro-Vasquez, TIA’s chief executive officer.
The launch of the London flight by Wizz Air comes after the Hungarian carrier started in April last year a low-fare service connecting Tirana and Budapest.
Albania has been placed on the list of safe countries for Britons to visit for 2018 at a time when major destinations face severe to likely terror threats, according to the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice.
Data published by the country’s state statistical institute, INSTAT, shows some 127,000 British citizens visited Albania in 2017, a 24 percent hike compared to the same period last year. The number of Albanians citizens visiting the UK is considerably lower as Albanian citizens need visas to visit Britain.
Currently, British Airways is the sole carrier currently offering direct Tirana-London flights.
Last year, Dutch low-cost carrier Transavia, a subsidiary of Air France-KLM, also launched direct flights linking for the first time Amsterdam to Tirana three times a week as part of its SEE expansion.
Some 17 airlines connect Tirana to European destinations, mostly Italy where most passengers fly considering an estimated community of some 500,000 Albanian migrants in the neighbouring country across the Adriatic.
Last year, the Chinese-run consortium managing TIA, the country’s sole international airport, handled a record 2.6 million passengers, an 18 percent increase compared to 2016.
