Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza
Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa Aeroporti Ndërkombëtar i Tiranës Nënë Tereza | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
Owner/Operator | Tirana International Airport SHPK and Kastrati Group[1] | ||||||||||
Serves | Tirana, Tirana County, Albania | ||||||||||
Location | Rinas, Durrës County, Albania | ||||||||||
Hub for | |||||||||||
Focus city for | Ryanair | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 108 ft / 33 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 41°24′53″N 19°43′14″E / 41.41472°N 19.72056°E | ||||||||||
Website | www | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Statistics (2023) | |||||||||||
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Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza (Albanian: Aeroporti Ndërkombëtar i Tiranës Nënë Tereza, IATA: TIA, ICAO: LATI), often referred to as the Rinas International Airport, is one of the two main international airports of the Republic of Albania. It serves the city of Tirana, its metropolitan area, and surrounding region in the county of Tirana. The airport is named in honor of the Albanian Roman Catholic nun and missionary, Mother Teresa (1910–1997). It is located 6 nautical miles (11 kilometres; 6.9 miles) northwest of Tirana, in the municipality of Krujë, Durrës County.[5][6]
The airport serves as the main hub for the Wizz Air and country's flag carrier Air Albania.[7] It is the largest airport in Albania and is one of the busiest Balkan airports after reaching 10 million passengers in 2024.[8] On 9 December 2024, the airport celebrated a major milestone by surpassing 10 million passengers.
History
[edit]Early development
[edit]The airport was constructed from 1955 to 1957. Tirana had commercial airline services before. Domestic aviation started in 1926 when German airline Adria-Aero-Lloyd obtained a monopoly for domestic air routes in the country and began servicing Tirana, Shkodër, Korçë and Vlorë. These operations proved unprofitable, and the airline sold its rights to Italian company Ala Littoria which opened regular routes in 1935 between Tirana to Shkodër, Kukës, Peshkopia, Kuçova, Vlorë, and Gjirokastër.[9] In 1938, the Yugoslav carrier Aeroput introduced regular commercial flights linking Tirana with Belgrade, Serbia, with a landing in Dubrovnik, Croatia.[10]
After the Second World War and installation of an isolationist communist regime in Albania, air transportation was rare. From 1944 to 1948, there was a service to Belgrade, but after the break of relations with Yugoslavia, until 1953, there was only a twice-a-month connection to Budapest operated by Soviet-Hungarian company Maszovlet.[9] From 1953 to 1955, there was no air service, until February 1955 when a route to Moscow was inaugurated, followed thereafter to other Eastern-European capitals. In the 1970s, Tirana was one of the first European cities to be served by China's CAAC Airlines, with a weekly flight to Beijing via Bucharest and Tehran. In the late 1980s, there were six airlines flying to Tirana, with a total of nine round-trips per week.[9]
With the collapse of communism in Albania in 1991 and subsequent liberalisation of travel restrictions abroad for Albanians, the number of airlines operating at the airport increased rapidly. In 1999, there were 8,249 flights and 356,823 passengers, seven times more than in 1991.[9]
Contemporary
[edit]The air traffic equipment and facilities of the airport have been heavily modernised, following investments by Tirana International Airport SHPK, a consortium led by Hochtief AirPort. Hochtief assumed management of the airport on 23 April 2005, for a 20-year concession period.[11]
The concession included the construction of a completely new passenger terminal and various infrastructure improvements, among them the construction of a new access road, new parking lots, and a bridge over the old airport access road.[12] The expansion resulted in an increased number of passengers per annum, estimated at 1.5 million passengers for 2009.[13][14] The number of passengers effectively increased to more than 1.5 million in 2010.[15]
The terminal building and its second expansion, the cargo building, its landscaping, and its carpark canopies were designed by Malaysian architect Hin Tan of Hintan.[16]
In December 2016, the airport announced that it served 2 million passengers during 2016, reaching its second milestone.[17]
The airport announced over 7.2 million passengers for 2023, exceeding their projections predictions for that year. This statistics marks a substantial increase of 40% compared to the previous year (2022) and 117% compared to the year 2019, solidifying TIA's position as a key player in the regional aviation industry.
On 9 December 2024, TIA reached a significant milestone, exceeding 10 million passengers.[18][19]
Ownership
[edit]In 2017, China Everbright Limited became the sole owner of Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza. After reaching an agreement with the Albanian Government to end its monopoly on international flights from Albania, Hochtief AirPort sold the operation of Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza to China Everbright Limited,[20] a company specializing in asset management, direct investment, brokerage and investment banking.[21] On 25 December 2020, Kastrati Group bought all the shares of the airport from China Everbright Limited for 71 million euros.[22][23]
Airlines and destinations
[edit]The following airlines operate regular year-round and seasonal scheduled and charter flights to and from Tirana:
Statistics
[edit]Traffic
[edit]Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
Year | Passengers | Change | Aircraft Operations | Change | Cargo (metric tons) |
Change | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | 785,000 | 20.77% | 15,400 | N.A. | N.A. | N.A. | |
2006 | 906,103 | 15.43% | 15,856 | 2.96% | 2,435 | N.A. | |
2007 | 1,105,770 | 22.04% | 18,258 | 15.15% | 3,832 | 57.37% | |
2008 | 1,267,041 | 14.58% | 19,194 | 5.13% | 2,497 | 34.84% | |
2009 | 1,394,688 | 10.07% | 20,064 | 4.53% | 2,265 | 9.29% | |
2010 | 1,536,822 | 10.19% | 20,768 | 3.51% | 2,355 | 3.97% | |
2011 | 1,817,073 | 18.24% | 22,988 | 10.69% | 2,656 | 12.78% | |
2012 | 1,665,331 | 8.35% | 20,528 | 10.70% | 1,875 | 29.41% | |
2013 | 1,757,342 | 5.53% | 19,942 | 2.85% | 2,164 | 15.41% | |
2014 | 1,810,305 | 3.02% | 17,928 | 3.02% | 2,324 | 13.53% | |
2015 | 1,997,044 | 10.3% | 20,876 | 16.4% | 2,229 | 4.1% | |
2016 | 2,195,100 | 9.9% | 22,352 | 7.1% | 2,200 | 1% | |
2017 | 2,630,338 | 19.8% | 24,336 | 9% | 2,266 | 3% | |
2018 | 2,947,172 | 12% | 25,462 | 3% | 2,245 | 0.9% | |
2019 | 3,338,147 | 13.3% | 28,695 | 12.5% | 2,372 | 5.7% | |
2020 | 1,310,614 | 60,7% | 15,280 | 46,8% | 1,796.8 | 24.3% | |
2021 | 2,923,533 | 123.1% | 26,152 | 73% | 1,983 | 10.4% | |
2022 | 5,198,550 | 77.8% | 38,517 | 47.3% | 2,045 | 3.1% | |
2023 | 7,257,662 | 39.6% | 51,050 | 32.5% | 1,953 | 4.5% | |
2024 (30.11) | 9,635,308 | 51% | 63,726 | 39% | 2,045 | 29.8% |
Busiest routes
[edit]Rank | Destination | Airport(s) | Number of Passengers | Top carriers |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Milan | MXP, BGY | 754,276 | Air Albania, Wizz Air, Ryanair |
2 | London | LHR, LTN, STN | 582,742 | British Airways, Ryanair, Wizz Air |
3 | Rome | CIA, FCO | 373,284 | ITA Airways, Ryanair, Wizz Air |
4 | Pisa | PSA | 322,971 | Air Albania, Ryanair, Wizz Air |
5 | Istanbul | IST, SAW | 321,661 | Air Albania, Pegasus Airlines |
6 | Bologna | BLQ | 310,583 | Air Albania, Ryanair, Wizz Air |
7 | Athens | ATH | 266,203 | Aegean Airlines, Sky Express, Wizz Air |
8 | Vienna | VIE | 240,408 | Austrian Airlines, Ryanair, Wizz Air |
9 | Verona | VRN | 217,611 | Air Albania, Wizz Air |
Rank | Destination | Number of Passengers |
---|---|---|
1 | Italy | 3,171,204 |
2 | Germany | 953,815 |
3 | United Kingdom | 596,294 |
4 | Turkey | 415,513 |
5 | Poland | 337,187 |
6 | Greece | 285,147 |
7 | Austria | 240,408 |
8 | France | 226,126 |
9 | Spain | 176,661 |
10 | Belgium | 175,856 |
Top carriers
[edit]Rank | Carrier | Market share |
---|---|---|
1 | Wizz Air | 61% |
2 | Air Albania | 7% |
3 | Albawings | 5% |
4 | Lufthansa | 4% |
5 | Austrian Airlines | 3% |
Ground transport
[edit]The airport is linked with motorway SH60 10 nautical miles (19 kilometres; 12 miles) away to SH2 Durrës–Tirana access road. Taxis and car rental facilities are available at the airport. The journey from Tirana to the airport takes 20–25 minutes.
Bus
[edit]An airport bus, located outside Arrivals terminal, provides an hourly service that is available 24 hour a day and 7 days a week to/from city centre.[105]
Rail
[edit]A new electrified light rail train line is being built between Tirana and Durrës with a link to Tirana Airport planned to be completed by 2024–25.[106]
Incidents and accidents
[edit]- 3 October 2006: Turkish Airlines Flight 1476, flying from Tirana to Istanbul, was hijacked by Hakan Ekinci in Greek airspace. The aircraft, with 107 passengers and six crew on board, transmitted two coded hijack signals which were picked up by the Greek air force; the flight was intercepted by military aircraft and landed safely at Brindisi, Italy.
- 30 June 2016: Three armed and masked people entered the cargo terminal, where they stole a huge amount of money that was to be transported abroad on airplanes. The amount of cash could have been up to 3 million euros. The incident caused national security concerns.[107][108]
- 9 April 2019: An Austrian Airlines flight headed to Vienna was delayed for 3 hours, following an armed robbery. The aircraft's engines were running, when three men wearing masks and military fatigues stepped up to the fuselage, stealing 6 million euros. One of the robbers was shot dead in an exchange of fire with the police about one kilometre from the airport.[109]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Zyrtarizohet kalimi i Aeroportit të Rinasit te "Kastrati group", për 71 milionë euro" [The transfer of Rinas Airport to "Kastrati group" is made official, for 71 million euros] (in Albanian). Top Channel. 25 December 2020.
- ^ a b Tirana International Airport. "Air Traffic Report 2023" (PDF).
- ^ "EAD Basic - Error Page". EUROCONTROL. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
- ^ "Airport record for Nënë Tereza/Rinas International Airport". Landings.com. Retrieved 1 August 2013.
- ^ Wragg, David (November 2009). The World's Top 500 Airports (2 ed.). Somerset, UK: Haynes Holdings. p. 13. ISBN 978-184425-632-7.
- ^ "Facts and Figures about Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza". www.tirana-airport.com.
- ^ "Wizz Air announces 55 new routes and three new bases from this summer". anna.aero. 1 June 2020.
- ^ "tirana-airport.com/ en - Tirana International Airport (TIA) Reports Record-Breaking 7.25 Million Passengers in 2023". 3 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d Elsie, Robert (2010). Historical dictionary of Albania (2 ed.). Lanham: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7380-3. OCLC 659564122.
- ^ "DRUSTVO ZA VAZDUSNI SAOBRACAJ A D – AEROPUT (1927-1948)". europeanairlines.no. 17 June 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
In addition, a new air service (No.2008) to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia's small narbour (sic, probably neighbor), Albania, was opened. From August, Aeroput flew from Beograd with a landing at Ragusa to Tirana, the capital of Albania.
- ^ "HOCHTIEF AirPort Signs Concession Agreement for Tirana Airport". hochtief.com. Retrieved 15 October 2004.
The agreement, signed today in the presence of the Albanian Prime Minister Fatos Nano in Tirana, seals the airport takeover in the context of a BOOT (Build Own Operate Transfer) concession with a duration of 20 years.
- ^ "HOCHTIEF AirPort Signs Concession Agreement for Tirana Airport". hochtief.com. Retrieved 15 October 2004.
Construction work for a new terminal is to commence right from the first year of operation.
- ^ "Tirana International Airport". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
- ^ "Tirana International Airport, Albania". HOCHTIEF. Archived from the original on 23 April 2011.
- ^ "Facts and Figures about Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza". tirana-airport.com.
Traffic Results: 2010 Passengers - 1,536,822
- ^ "TIRANA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT" (PDF). tirana-airport.com. p. 9.
The tall, bright and spacious building, designed by the renowned Malaysian architect Hin Tan, is a symbol of Albania's new self-confidence.
- ^ "Tirana International Airport reaches two millionth passenger milestone". ata.gov.al. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
Tirana International Airport (TIA) announced on Friday the achievement of two major passenger traffic milestones in welcoming its two millionth passenger and recording the largest ever number of customers served at the airport.
- ^ "10 Million Passengers, Tirana International Airport reaches the record number before the end of 2024". Tirana International Airport. 9 December 2024. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "Aeroporti ndërkombëtar Nënë Tereza, 10 milionë pasagjerë në 2024" (in Albanian). Ministria e Infrastrukturës dhe Energjisë. 9 December 2024. Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "Shqiptarja.com - Aeroporti i Rinasit kalon 100% tek kompania kineze". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ^ "irasia.com - China Everbright Limited". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ^ "tirana-airport.com/en About TIA - Today". Retrieved 15 February 2023.
- ^ "seenews.com - UPDATE 1 - Albania's Kastrati Group acquires Tirana airport operator". SeeNews. 28 December 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
- ^ "AEGEAN AIRLINES ADDS RHODES – TIANA IN NS24". aeroroutes. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ "Air Albania: Navigating the Balkan skies with Albania's flagship airline". 3 August 2023.
- ^ "Air Albania nis nga prilli fluturimet në Ankara e Izmir! Rihap dhe fluturimet në Bolonja, Pisa e Verona". Shqiptarja.com.
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- ^ a b "airBaltic launches 16 new routes across the Baltic States, expands connectivity". Aviation24.be.
- ^ "Rinas / Flights start with Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt". Albanian Diaspora. July 2021.
- ^ "AIR FRANCE THIS SUMMER: 196 DESTINATIONS, ALMOST LIKE IN 2019". AirJournal. April 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ^ "Air Montenegro resumes seasonal Podgorica-Bratislava service". CAPA. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ "Brno to start direct flights with Tirana with Air Montenegro". Fischer.
- ^ "Tirana". Air Serbia.
- ^ "Air Serbia / Etihad Resumes Codeshare Partnership from Feb 2024".
- ^ "Austrian NW24 Europe Frequency Changes – 26MAY24". Aeroroutes.
- ^ "Air Albania announces Stansted, the fifth airline from Tirana to London". 5 July 2020.
- ^ "British Airways NW24 Heathrow – Europe Frequency Changes – 27OCT24". Aeroroutes. Aeroroutes. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ "A delayed charter season was inaugurated in Katowice". PASAZER. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
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- ^ "Charter flights". charterflights.r.pl. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- ^ "Destinations". Dusseldorf Airport. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
- ^ "Eurowings with new summer destinations from Stuttgart, Nuremberg and Munich".
- ^ "flydubai launches Albania route". The Aviator Middle East. 1 April 2021.
- ^ "Iberia Schedules Madrid – Tirana late-March 2024 Launch". Aeroroutes.
- ^ "ITA AIRWAYS MOVES TIRANA SERVICE TO SEASONAL IN NW24". aeroroutes. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
- ^ "Jazeera NS23 Europe Network Expansion". AeroRoutes.
- ^ "Routemap".
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- ^ "Lufthansa: a return to Tirana, a sharing with airBaltic". Lufthansa. 19 February 2021.
- ^ "Norwegian expands Danish network". routesonline. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
- ^ "Pegasus NS24 Antalya Network Expansion – 08NOV23". AeroRoutes.
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- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Ryanair sbarca in Albania. Attacco frontale a Wizz Air". 8 June 2023.
- ^ "What new flights and frequencies for Ryanair from Calabria". italiavola. 12 July 2024. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
- ^ "Ryanair to launch Naples-Tirana service in Jan-2025". CAPA. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
- ^ "Three new Ryanair routes from Chopin Airport". pasazer. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
- ^ "SalamAir NS24 Network Additions". AeroRoutes.
- ^ "SAS 2024 PEAK SEASON ADDITIONAL SHORT-HAUL NETWORK ADDITIONS". aeroroutes. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
- ^ Liu, Jim (17 December 2024). "SAS NS25 Europe Network Additions – 15DEC24". Aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
- ^ "SKY EXPRESS NW24 ATHENS NETWORK ADDITIONS". 13 August 2024.
- ^ "Bilbao has more passengers in June than any other month to date; gained nine airlines since 2020". 24 July 2023.
- ^ a b "vysledky-vyhledavani". cedok.cz. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
- ^ "Travel Service: Három új útvonal és 13%-os kapacitásbővítés a nyári menetrendben". 27 February 2018.
- ^ a b "Smartwings Poland NS24 Charter Network Additions". AeroRoutes.
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- ^ "air and charter tickets". itaka.pl.
- ^ "Destinations". sunexpress. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
- ^ "SUNEXPRESS NS24 NETWORK EXPANSION". aeroroutes. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
- ^ "SWISS NW24 Europe Frequency Changes – 27OCT24". Aeroroutes. Aeroroutes. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ "Transavia moves Amsterdam-Tirana resumption to Mar-2024". CAPA. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Transavia launching 10 routes from France in summer 2025". CAPA. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ "Aéroport de Lyon : Trois nouvelles lignes de Transavia en 2024, voici les tarifs". 10 December 2023.
- ^ "TUI fly starts holiday flights to Tirana, Gazipasa also returns". luchtvaartnieuws. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
- ^ "Wizz Air to launch flights to Abu Dhabi from Tirana, Sarajevo - report". SeeNews. 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d "News for Airlines, Airports and the Aviation Industry | CAPA". centreforaviation.com.
- ^ "Nuove rotte Wizz Air da Londra e Atene". 22 September 2022.
- ^ "Wizz Air allocates fifth plane to TIA base: Direct flights to Barcelona and Cologne to begin". Tirana International Airport.[better source needed]
- ^ a b c "Wizz Air will launch another four routes from Tirana to Italy". italiavola. 7 December 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "Wizz Air kehrt dem Flughafen Köln/Bonn den Rücken".
- ^ a b "Wizz Air NS24 Network Additions Summary – 14JUL24".
- ^ a b "Tirana International Airport". www.tirana-airport.com.
- ^ a b c d "Wizzair opens three routes from Tirana". italiavola. 31 March 2022. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
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- ^ a b "Wizz Air Announces Ten New Routes from Albania". ALBANIA DAILY NEWS.
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- ^ "Wizz Air verbindet Stuttgart mit Tirana". 9 April 2024.
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- ^ a b "Wizz Air with new routes from Gdansk and Poznan to Albania". paszer. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
- ^ "Wizz Air launches New Routes from KATOWICE and TIRANA". 14 April 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Facts and figures about Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza". Tirana International Airport (TIA). Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Market Statistics". Tirana International Airport (TIA). Archived from the original on 19 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024. Note: To view the detailed air traffic statistics, click on the year's report from the available list and navigate to the "Air Traffic Report" section for each year.
- ^ "AIR Traffic November 2024" (PDF). Tirana Airport. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
- ^ a b "Route Report December 2023" (PDF). Tirana International Airport. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "Market Share by Air Carriers Report 2023" (PDF). Tirana International Airport. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ "Bus - Tirana International Airport". www.tirana-airport.com. Retrieved 26 August 2022.
- ^ "Rehabilitation of the Durrës-Tirana railway line".
- ^ Times, Tirana (30 June 2016). "Spectacular airport robbery raises national security concerns". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ^ "Huge amount of money stolen at the Tirana Airport". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
- ^ "Albanian police kill gunman in airport cash heist". Reuters. 10 April 2019 – via www.reuters.com.
External links
[edit]- 1957 establishments in Albania
- Airports established in 1957
- Airports in Albania
- Buildings and structures in Durrës County
- Memorials to Mother Teresa
- Transport in Durrës County
- Transport in Tirana
- Airfields of the United States Army Air Forces Air Transport Command in the European Theater
- China Everbright Group