Lower passenger traffic registered at TIA

TIRANA, Aug. 13 – While official figures on the passenger traffic for the first half of this year in Tirana International Airport have not been published yet, sources from the Civil Aviation Authority say Albania’s only international airport could have experienced a slight shrink in the first half of 2012. Severe weather conditions in Europe, the global crisis escalating and the bankruptcy of Hungary’s Malev are the key reason for the possible decrease, says Ervin Minarolli, the director of the Civil Aviation Authority.
However, the introduction of some new destinations such as Vienna and Prague is expected to increase the passenger traffic by the end of the year.
Latest data published by Tirana International Airport (TIA) show that 1,401,821 passengers travelled through Albania’s only airport in the first nine months of 2011, registering a 16.7 per cent increase year-on-year. “We recorded an impressive increase in passengers and ATMs, linked directly with Albania’s visa liberalization in 2011. Even though 2012 will not be an easy year, we are nevertheless optimistic and confident that we will manage the challenges given the engagement of our collaborators and staff. Their work and dedication has made TIA a success story. All of us working at TIA can be proud of our airport and of what we have achieved since beginning the concession,” said Mrs Andrea Gebbeken, Chief Executive Officer of TIA.
During the first nine months of 2011, the airlines carrying most passengers to and from Tirana were Belleair (45.8%), Albanian Airlines (10%), Alitalia (8.5%), Austrian Airlines (6.4%) and Turkish Airlines (3.6%), while the new low-cost JetAirfly service is beginning to increase its market share. Currently, thirteen airlines fly in to and out of TIA. In all, these airlines connect the Albanian capital city directly with 30 destinations.
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.