TIRANA, Oct. 31 – Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air has launched direct Tirana-Dortmund flights, turning Dortmund into the third German destination to be directly reached from the Tirana International Airport after Munich and Frankfurt, two major cities already serviced by other carriers.
“We are delighted to launch another exciting route from Tirana connecting Albania with astonishing Dortmund in Germany, a perfect destination for a weekend break. Dortmund is an ideal opportunity for our customers to enjoy spectacular culture in a lively city, memorable breweries and beautiful museums,” Andras Rado, a corporate communications manager at Wizz Air is quoted as saying by the Tirana International Airport.
The low-fare route which officially kicked off this week will operate twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
The Dortmund destination is the third direct link that the Hungarian low-cost carrier is offering from Tirana since launching its operations in the country in early 2017 by linking Tirana to Budapest after a five-year break following the 2012 bankruptcy of Malev.
Earlier this year, Wizzair also launched Tirana-London direct flights from its Luton base.
The Dortmund destination comes at a time when German interest to visit and discover Albania is on the rise and more and more Albanians are considering legal migration to Germany, Europe’s leading economy, following an asylum exodus that has now waned following massive deportations and voluntary returns of Albanians applying for ungrounded international protection.
German tourists, a considerable number of whom include visitors of ethnic Albanian roots, lead tourist growth in Albania this year, with more than 141,000 visiting the country in the first three quarters of 2018, up 38.5 percent compared to the same period last year, according to INSTAT, the state-run statistical institute.
Germany is the host of about half a million people of Albanian roots, the majority of whom ethnic Albanians from Kosovo.
Tirana is also linked to Amsterdam and Paris through low-cost flights. Air transport authorities say the entry of new low-cost carriers in Albania, currently having one of the region’s highest ticket prices, is hampered by the country having a sole international airport and high charges applied by the concessionaire.
Albania is planning to launch to new airports and operate a national airline, a joint venture with Turkey’s flag carrier Turkish Airlines, in a bid to lower ticket prices and serve the country’s emerging tourism industry.
