The partnership that was presented a few years ago as a "national bet" for Albanian air transport seems to be coming to an end in a quiet but revealing way. Turkish Airlines, a key strategic partner of Air Albania, not only is she leaving with the sale of her stake, but is now returning dynamically to the Tirana market as a direct competitor.
Η τουρκική αεροπορική εταιρεία ανακοίνωσε ότι από τα μέσα Ιανουαρίου ανοίγει απευθείας κρατήσεις για πτήσεις Τίρανα – Κωνσταντινούπολη, με έναρξη δρομολογίων τον Φεβρουάριο και τιμές που ξεκινούν από χαμηλά επίπεδα για μονή διαδρομή. Πρόκειται για μια κίνηση που αλλάζει ριζικά τους συσχετισμούς, καθώς η Turkish Airlines δεν περιορίζεται μόνο στη σύνδεση με την Κωνσταντινούπολη, αλλά προσφέρει πρόσβαση σε ένα παγκόσμιο δίκτυο ανταποκρίσεων μέσω του μεγαλύτερου αεροδρομίου της Ευρώπης.
At the same time, Air Albania appears to be in a state of operational disintegration. Despite the continuous cancellations of flights to Istanbul and the confirmation from the Civil Aviation Authority that the relevant license has been suspended, the company still has tickets available in the reservation system. Passengers who made purchases in recent weeks have been faced with sudden cancellations, without official announcements or a clear compensation policy.
This picture did not emerge suddenly. Tirana airport data shows that Air albania has lost Almost All of its momentum: from a double-digit share of passenger traffic a few years ago, it was reduced to a marginal presence in the first Half Of 2025. the entry of low-cost airlines, such As Wizz air and Ryanair, has further shrunk its role in destinations outside Istanbul.
At the same time, the Tirana-Istanbul route remains one of the busiest at the airport, with hundreds of thousands of passengers annually. This fact makes even more evident the strategic choice of Turkish Airlines to cover the market directly, leaving the previous "national carrier" out of the game.
On a financial level, Air Albania's situation is characterized by a lack of transparency and chronic loss-making operations. The company has not published balance sheets, while tax data shows a turnover that has never been accompanied by profitability. The result is a company that today appears practically weakened, without a clear business future.
Air Albania was founded in 2018 as a public-private partnership, with the participation of the Albanian state and Turkish Airlines, and was accompanied by ambitious announcements of European and transatlantic flights. Promises that were repeated at the political level, even in 2024, for a direct connection to the United States.
Today, however, these announcements seem distant. The departure of the main partner and its return as a competitor mark the end of a narrative that was based more on political projection than on sustainable market data. The Air Albania venture thus ends up being yet another example of grand promises that did not withstand the reality of numbers and competition.
