During the first 8 months of the year, 7.83 million arriving passengers were registered at Tirana International Airport. Compared to the same period last year, this number has increased by about 8%. Meanwhile, the number of flights carried out so far has reached 47,462.

The summer months have been the busiest, the period when the airport is “swamped” with passengers. In just one day, an average of about 43,000 passengers have landed or departed, while the number of planes that have landed or taken off from the runway has reached 258 each day.

The increase is related not only to the influx of foreign tourists, but also to Albanians who have chosen to travel to new destinations opened this summer, such as Nantes, Bordeaux and Lisbon. However, Italian cities continue to remain the most popular for Albanian travelers, especially Milan, Rome and Bologna. In addition, a large volume of passengers has also been registered towards London and Vienna.

Meanwhile, in the region, Tirana Airport has recorded the highest increase in passengers after the pandemic period with an increase of 152%, leaving behind Montenegro, which has increased its flows by 34%.

At the same time that Tirana is breaking passenger records, it is expected that part of the flows will also be distributed to Vlora Airport. The latter is expected to become operational next year, with 12 new destinations in the pipeline and a capacity of around 600 thousand passengers, from one of the low-cost airlines. Some of the airlines are already in the final stages of negotiations to sign the first contracts.

Vlora Airport is equipped with a 3.2 kilometer long runway and a terminal of about 20 thousand square meters, where the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Ministry of Finance predict a high flow of passengers from the first year of operation.