TIRANA, Feb. 17 – Passenger numbers at Albania’s sole international airport, slightly recovered for the second year in a row but stood below their peak level in 2011 soon after Albania was granted visa free travel.
Data published by the Tirana International Airport, a consortium which has been managing the airport since 2005 under a 20-year concession deal, shows passenger numbers in TIA slightly rose by 3 percent to 1.81 million in 2014, but was down by 0.4 percent or 6,770 passengers compared to the airport’s most successful performance in 2011 soon after the visa regime in Schengen area was lifted for Albanians in December 2010.
TIA reported some 17,928 aircraft movements and 2,324 tonnes in cargo for 2014.
The airport employed around 275 people in 2014, down from 350 in 2011.
One year after the bankruptcy of Belle Air company which controlled more than half of the Albanian market, the Tirana International Airport has recommended the presence of a home-based low-cost airline.
Rolf Castro-Vasquez, the Chief Executive Officer of TIA, says such an airline would facilitate flights and give extra services to Albanian passengers, especially to non-niche destinations.
“It is easier to carry passengers from home rather than have a slot in different and busy airports across Europe. Usually low-cost airlines have a clear view of their schedule for at least the following two years. Albania needs a home-based carrier to balance the requests with the needs of the small market,” he says in an interview published on TIA’s website.
Almost one year after the bankruptcy of Albania’s Belle Air which controlled more than half of the Albanian market, Italy’s Alitalia and its Air One subsidiary have gained control in the Albanian air transport market.
From a market share of only 9 percent at the end of 2013, Alitalia, which has now phased out its Air One brand, has increased its market share to around 40 percent, reports Italy’s ANSAMed agency.
While several new airlines have entered Albania after the bankruptcy of Belle Air in late 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.
