Tirana International Airport’s chief executive officer, Andrea Gebbeken, has spoken publicly about the company’s views on its exclusive right to international flights, why it doesn’t want to invest money at an airport in Saranda and why Kukes Airport might be better suited for cargo rather than passengers.
By Tirana Times Staff
TIRANA, Nov. 17 – The chief executive of Tirana International Airport, Andrea Gebbeken, spoke publicly last Friday about why the airport’s exclusive right to international flight is paramount to the company.
She said that having the Kukes Airport run international flights would hurt both airports, because they are too close, and indicated the Kukes Airport would need more investment to make it a viable landing spot for most modern aircrafts. A solution might be found in turning it into a cargo airport, Ms. Gebbeken said.
TIA says it also wants to help, but not invest, in the new Saranda airport, which Albania’s government wants to build.
TIA has a 20-year concession to operate the airport of Tirana and the agreement between the company and Albania’s government provides exclusivity in relation to international commercial flights.
“In making our winning bid for the concession the value of having exclusive rights to be the sole international airport was part of the overall assessment of the project. If we were to give up that right in general, then the business model we submitted to win the concession will not be sustainable any longer and we would incur substantial weakening of the Tirana International Airport Company. Even more, the financing that TIA received from EBRD and other banks would come under pressure,” Ms. Ms. Gebbeken said. “However, we have in the past and continue to signal to the Government of Albania that we are willing to negotiate on specific stipulations in the Concession Agreement and to find a commonly acceptable solution.”
Ms. Gebbeken made the comments in an interview with the Albanian daily newspaper, Shqip, which was made available in English by the airport’s press office.
Her comments come as Albania’s government said last week it wants to end Tirana International Airport’s exclusive right to international flights, a long-standing position that is now getting some official action. The government says it wants to negotiate with the company that runs the airport to find a solution.
Kukes Airport, brand new, ready to go and sitting empty
Then there is the issue of the Kukes Airport to be solved. The airport, located at Albania’s northeastern edge, near the border with Kosovo, cost $22 million to be built with money from a Kuwait grant. It’s ready to go, but it sits empty under the administration of the Albanian government until the question of what to do with international flights is answered.
But TIA doesn’t believe that Kukes is a viable spot for international passenger flights, according to its chief executive.
“Operating Kukes airport as an international passenger airport would cause economic damage to both itself and the Tirana airport, due to the vicinity of both airports. However, there may be a solution if Kukes were to be turned into a cargo airport. But this would need further investment since the current runway configuration of the airport even does not allow for safe take-off and landing of the most common passenger and leisure traffic airplanes. Nevertheless, we encourage the Government of Albania to open discussions in this direction,” Ms. Gebbeken said in the interview. “Since TIA has the responsibility to safeguard the commercial and financial standing of the airport company, we cannot cancel the exclusive right we operate under in general. If we would do so we would act irresponsibly and negatively influence the likelihood of future modernization efforts at Tirana International Airport leading to a deterioration of TIA’s economic viability.”
A new Saranda Airport could cater to seasonal tourism
Last week, when Transport Minister Sokol Olldashi said negotiations will start this month with TIA about the Saranda Airport, which the government wants to build at the country’s southern tip, there was some indication the government planned to offer Tirana Airport Partners the right to build and operate the airport in Saranda.
Albania’s government says it want to build an airport in the Saranda area to attract more international tourists there.
TIA is willing to help, but it doesn’t want to put money in the project.
“One thing we pointed out to the Government of Albania when we discussed the potential of an airport to be constructed in the Saranda area was that TIA was not interested in investing in such airport. We would be happy to advise and/or supervise construction of the airport, and even operate it on a fee basis, but we were and are not interested in providing funding for the airport,” Ms. Gebbeken said
She added that TIA and its shareholders are supportive of this initiative of the Government of Albania. Following a suggestion by TIA, there was a traffic study commissioned in 2007 for the Northern and Southern regions of Albania to investigate into the matter.
In addition, TIA offered the Government of Albania in October 2008 to assist the government in analyzing the feasibility of an airport in the Saranda area. TIA even agreed to support the suggested feasibility study for Albania’s government, and only awaited direction to select an independent consulting firm to conduct this analysis, according to the company’s chief executive.
“We have repeatedly made this offer, but no progress has been made yet,” she said. “We are ready and willing to assist the Government of Albania in its desire to build an airport in the Saranda area. We are ready to discuss other aspects of our concession as well. Still, we have to emphasize that we have a responsibility to protect Tirana Airport Company.”
But, she added, there is a middle ground to negotiate, and “we have told the Government of Albania that we are prepared to begin discussions at any time the Government of Albania requests. We expect to hear from the Government of Albania soon, after all the last discussions were held in October 2008.”
