Experts and airline carriers blame the situation on the high fees charged by the Tirana International Airport (TIA) concessionaire, which has been in charge of the airport since April 2005 under a 20-year concession contract
TIRANA, March 24 – While several new airlines have entered Albania after the bankruptcy of Belle Air in 2013, ticket prices to European destinations remain high for a country such as Albania where GDP per capita is among the lowest in the region. The bankruptcy of Belle Air, which had a market share of around 50 percent and was considered a monopoly, temporarily lowered ticket prices especially because of the entrance of new carriers targeting to gain market shares. However, tickets to European destinations, mainly Italy, where most Albanians travel, are back to their previous levels ranging from 100 to 150 Euros for a single ticket.
Experts and airline carriers blame the situation on the high tariffs charged by the Tirana International Airport (TIA) concessionaire, which has been in charge of the airport since April 2005 under a 20-year concession contract.
The tariffs are considerably higher compared to regional countries and even some EU countries.
With ten years having already operated TIA, the concessionaire retains the exclusiveness of international flights in Albania which is barrier for the opening of new airports in Albania.
When compared to regional airports in Macedonia, Kosovo, and even Slovenia, aircraft charges at the Tirana International Airport are considerably higher. Charges on landing and take-off, base ground handling, cargo handling and parking and lighting stand considerably higher.
The situation has led to more and more Albanians are choosing the Prishtina international airport in neighbouring Kosovo for European destinations over considerably lower tickers. “Tickets for flights from the Mother Teresa Airport in Tirana are 50 percent to 100 percent more expensive than flights from the Prishtina,” say Kosovo media.
Data by Kosovo police show around 1,400 Albanian citizens entered Kosovo to fly from the Prishtina airport on January 1 and 2. Tickets from Prishtina airport to Verona, Basel, Zurich, Berlin and Munich vary from Euro 59 to Euro 91.
Since April 2005, the airport has been managed by TIA, a consortium led by Germany’s Hochtief AirPort GmbH (HTA), one of the leading private airport investors in the world, which has won a 20-year concession to be in charge of the airport’s activities.
On May 7, Germany’s Hochtief, which has majority stakes in leading airports in five countries, including Albania’s Tirana International Airport (TIA) sold its shares to Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) for Euro 1.5 billion.
Albania’s Competition Authority says the acquisition of the 47 percent stake held by Germany’s “Hochtief Aktiengesellschaft” in the Tirana International Airport by Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board is in full compliance of Albanian competition laws.
For the first time during its eight years of concession, the Tirana International Airport (TIA) registered a shrink in passenger numbers affected by global crisis impacts. Passenger numbers at TIA fell by 8.4 percent in 2012. This is the first annual decline in passenger traffic recorded at the airport as the euro zone crisis hit air travel and businesses, airport officials said.
