Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza

Tirana International Airport
Mother Teresa
Aeroporti Ndërkombëtar i Tiranës
Nënë Tereza
Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Tirana International Airport SHPK (Part of China Everbright Limited)
Serves Tirana, Albania[1]
Location Rinas[1]
Hub for
Focus city for
Elevation AMSL 108 ft / 33 m
Coordinates 41°24′53″N 019°43′14″E / 41.41472°N 19.72056°E / 41.41472; 19.72056Coordinates: 41°24′53″N 019°43′14″E / 41.41472°N 19.72056°E / 41.41472; 19.72056
Website Official website
Map
TIA

Location of Airport in Albania

Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
18/36 2,750[2] 9,022[2] Asphalt
Statistics (2016)
Passengers 2,195,100
Passenger change 15–16 Increase11.3%
Aircraft movements 22,352[3]
Movements change 15–16 Increase7.1%
Source: Albanian AIP at EUROCONTROL[4] Landings.com[5]

Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza (Albanian: Aeroporti Ndërkombëtar i Tiranës Nënë Tereza, IATA: TIA, ICAO: LATI), commonly Rinas International Airport, is currently Albania's only international airport.

Named after Mother Teresa, the Albanian Roman Catholic nun and missionary, the airport is located in the village of Rinas 6 nautical miles (11 kilometres; 6.9 miles) northwest of the city of Tirana.

The airport is one of the busiest airports in the Balkans, handling nearly 2.2 million passengers in 2016.[6] It offers international connections primarily within Europe. It serves as a hub for local carrier Albawings and as a focus city for Adria Airways, Blue Panorama Airlines, Ernest Airlines and Mistral Air.[7]

History

Early history

The Airport was constructed during a period of two years, from 1955 to 1957. However, Tirana had commercial airline services before. As early as 1938, the Yugoslav carrier Aeroput introduced regular commercial flights linking Tirana with Belgrade, Serbia with a landing in Dubrovnik, Croatia.[8] With the collapse of communism in Albania in 1991 and subsequent liberalization of travel restrictions abroad for Albanians, the number of airlines operating at the airport increased rapidly.

Post-communism

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.[9]

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.[10] The expansion resulted in an increased number of passengers per annum, estimated at 1.5 million passengers for 2009.[11][12] The number of passengers effectively increased to more than 1.5 million in 2010.[13]

The Terminal building and its second expansion, the Cargo building, its landscaping and carpark canopies was designed by Malaysian architect Hin Tan of Hintan.[14]

In 2016, the Government of Albania reached an agreement with Tirana International Airport on ending its monopoly on flights, opening the way for an airport at Kukës in the north to open.[15]

In December 2016, the Airport announced that it has served 2.2 million passengers during 2016, reaching its second milestone.[16]

Ownership

The following company is the owner of Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza as of 2017:

After reaching an agreement with the Albanian Government to end its monopoly on international flights from Albania, Hochtief AirPort sold the operating of Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza to China Everbright Limited,[17] a company specializing in asset management, direct investment, brokerage and investment banking.[18] China Everbright Limited has the right to operate Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza until 2027.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate scheduled, seasonal and charter flights out of Tirana

AirlinesDestinations
Adria Airways Frankfurt, Ljubljana, Munich
Seasonal Charter: Poprad-Tatry
Aegean Airlines Athens
Aegean Airlines
operated by Olympic Air 		Athens
Air Serbia Belgrade
Albawings Florence, Perugia, Rimini, Treviso, Venice[19]
Alitalia Bari, Rome–Fiumicino
Anda Air Seasonal charter: Kiev-Zhuliany
Austrian Airlines Vienna
Belavia Seasonal charter: Minsk
Blu-express
operated by Blue Panorama Airlines 		Bari (begins 30 October 2017),[20] Bergamo, Bologna, Genoa, Milan–Malpensa, Pisa, Rome–Fiumicino, Turin, Verona
Bravo Airways Seasonal charter: Kiev-Zhuliany
British Airways London–Gatwick
Corendon Airlines Seasonal charter: Antalya
DART Ukrainian Airlines Seasonal charter: Kiev-Zhuliany
Enter Air Seasonal charter: Poznan, Wrocław
Ernest Airlines Ancona (begins 24 August 2017), Bergamo, Bologna, Florence (begins 21 August 2017), Milan-Malpensa, Pisa, Rimini (begins 30 August 2017),[21] Venice, Verona[22]
Eurowings
operated by Germanwings 		Seasonal: Cologne/Bonn, Stuttgart
Freebird Airlines Seasonal charter: Antalya
Lufthansa Regional
operated by Lufthansa Cityline 		Frankfurt
Mistral Air Ancona, Bari, Perugia, Pescara[23]
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Seasonal charter: Antalya
Small Planet Airlines Seasonal charter: Katowice, London-Gatwick, London-Stansted, Verona, Warsaw-Chopin
Smartwings
operated by Travel Service 		Seasonal: Prague[24]
Sunexpress Seasonal charter: Antalya
Transavia Amsterdam
Transavia France Seasonal: Paris–Orly
Travel Service Polska Seasonal charter: Katowice, Warsaw
Travel Service Slovakia Seasonal charter: Bratislava, Košice
TUI fly Belgium Brussels[25]
Turkish Airlines Istanbul–Atatürk
Volotea Seasonal: Verona
Wizz Air Budapest[26]

Statistics

Old picture of the Airport in 1978
Terminal interior
Alitalia Airbus A320 in Tirana
Adria Airways Airbus A319 in Tirana

Traffic

Passenger, aircraft operations and cargo statistics at Nënë Tereza Airport
Year Passenger Change Aircraft Operations Change Cargo
(metric tons)		 Change
2005785,000 Increase20.77% 15,400 N.A. N.A. N.A.
2006906,103 Increase15.43% 15,856 Increase 2.96% 2,435 N.A.
20071,105,770 Increase22.04% 18,258 Increase15.15% 3,832 Increase57.37%
20081,267,041 Increase14.58% 19,194 Increase 5.13% 2,497 Decrease34.84%
20091,394,688 Increase10.07% 20,064 Increase 4.53% 2,265 Decrease 9.29%
20101,536,822 Increase10.19% 20,768 Increase 3.51% 2,355 Increase 3.97%
20111,817,073 Increase18.24% 22,988 Increase10.69% 2,656 Increase12.78%
20121,665,331 Decrease 8.35% 20,528 Decrease10.70% 1,875 Decrease29.41%
20131,757,342 Increase 5.53% 19,942 Decrease 2.85% 2,164 Increase15.41%
20141,810,305 Increase 3.02% 17,928 Decrease 3.02% 2,324 Increase13.53%
20151,997,044 Increase 10.3% 20,876 Increase 16.4% 2,229 Decrease4.1%[2]
20162,210,100 Increase 11.3% 22,352 Increase 7.1% 2200 Decrease1%

Busiest Routes

Most frequent routes at Tirana Airport
Rank Destination Airport(s) Number of Passengers 2016[27] Top carriers
1 Italy Milan MXP, BGY 321.521 Blue Panorama Airlines, Ernest Airlines
2 Italy Rome FCO 300.601 Alitalia, Blue Panorama Airlines
3 Turkey Istanbul IST, SAW 203.147 Pegasus Airlines, Turkish Airlines
4 Austria Vienna VIE 159.109 Austrian Airlines
5 Italy Pisa PSA 126.333 Blue Panorama Airlines, Ernest Airlines
6 Italy Bologna BLQ 111.460 Blue Panorama Airlines, Ernest Airlines
7 United Kingdom London LGW, STN 86.984 British Airways, Small Planet Airlines
8 Greece Athens ATH 78.349 Aegean Airlines
9 Germany Frankfurt FRA 75.584 Adria Airways, Lufthansa
10 Italy Venice VCE 67.891 Blue Panorama Airlines, Ernest Airlines

Ground transportation

Taxi rank at the airport

Car

The airport is linked with motorway SH60 (10 km away) to SH2 Durres -Tirana access road. Taxis and car rental facilities are available at the airport. Taxis are available at the airport. The journey from Tirana to the airport takes 20–25 minutes, depending on traffic.

Bus

Rinas Express airport bus, located outside Arrivals terminal, leaves on the hour every hour (8am to 7pm), to the city centre, and the trip takes around 25 to 30 minutes. Rinas Express operates 12 hours (6 am to 6 pm) as an hourly bus service between the Airport and the National Museum in the centre of Tirana. The single fare is 250 Albanian Lek. From Durres the rate for a single fare is 480 Albanian Lek.

Incidents and accidents

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Wragg, David (November 2009). The World's Top 500 Airports (2nd ed.). Sparkford, Yeovil, Somerset BA22 7JJ, UK: Haynes Holdings. p. 13. ISBN 978 184425 632 7.
  2. 1 2 3 "Facts and Figures about Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza - Tirana International Airport".
  3. ↑ http://www.tirana-airport.com/l/6/108/business-to-business/tia-market-statistics/
  4. ↑ "EAD Basic - Error Page". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  5. ↑ Airport record for Nënë Tereza/Rinas International Airport at Landings.com. Retrieved 1 August 2013
  6. ↑ "Transporti ajror, Shkupi, Prishtina dhe Podgorica lanë pas Rinasin në 2016". Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  7. ↑ "Local-based carrier Albawings continues to grow successfully in the market - Tirana International Airport". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  8. ↑ "DRUSTVO ZA VAZDUSNI SAOBRACAJ A D – AEROPUT (1927-1948)". europeanairlines.no. Retrieved 17 June 2010. In addition a new air service (No.2008) to Kingdom of Yugoslavia’s small narbour Albania was opened. From August Aeroput flew from Beograd with a landing at Ragusa to Tirana, the capital of Albania.
  9. ↑ "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.
  10. ↑ "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.
  11. ↑ "Tirana International Airport". Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  12. ↑ Tirana International Airport, Albania – HOCHTIEF.
  13. ↑ "Facts and Figures about Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza". tirana-airport.com. Traffic Results: 2010 Passengers - 1,536,822
  14. ↑ "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.
  15. ↑ Mejdini, Fatjona (1 April 2016). "Albanians Get to Fly from Second Airport". Balkan Insight.
  16. ↑ "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.
  17. ↑ "Shqiptarja.com - Aeroporti i Rinasit kalon 100% tek kompania kineze". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  18. ↑ "irasia.com - China Everbright Limited". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  19. ↑ "Albawings -". Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  20. ↑ http://www.routesonline.com/news/38/airlineroute/274231/blu-express-adds-bari-tirana-route-in-w17/
  21. ↑ https://flyernest.com/en/book-a-flight/
  22. ↑ https://flyernest.com/en/book-a-flight/
  23. ↑ https://www.mistralair.it/en/?___from_store=it
  24. ↑ http://www.tirana-airport.com/d/7/46/144/first-czech-direct-flight-opens-summer-season-/
  25. ↑ "Jetairfly Flight Plan". Jetairfly.
  26. ↑ "Low-Cost Airline Wizz Air announces the first route Tirana-Budapest on 5 April 2017".
  27. ↑ "Tirana Airport passes two million passenger mark; Wizz Air to become newest carrier with Budapest connection; S17 capacity up 22%". 8 March 2017.
  28. ↑ Times, Tirana (30 June 2016). "Spectacular airport robbery raises national security concerns". Retrieved 21 February 2017.
  29. ↑ "Huge amount of money stolen at the Tirana Airport". Retrieved 21 February 2017.

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