A guide of the airlines with flights to and from Albania to Europe
Important Note: For the latest changes impacting flight frequency, capacity, schedules, and the wider market due to COVID-19 check out the daily updates by Tirana International Airport or contact the respective airline
Unless you’re traveling by boat, the easiest and fastest way to reach Albania is by plane.
Currently, there is only one international airport in Albania that operates commercial and charter flights. Named after Mother Teresa, Tirana International Airport (TIA) is often referred to as Rinas Airport. The airport was built between 1955 and 1957. The first commercial airlines operating were Aeroflot, Jat, Malev, Tarom, and Interflug.
Albania has direct flight routes with over 50 destinations in Italy, France, Austria, Greece, Germany, England, Netherlands, Switzerland, Belgium, Hungary, Turkey, Serbia, and the Middle East.
In 2020, TIA served 1,310,614 passengers.
“The airlines carrying most passengers to and from Tirana in 2020 were Wizz Air 24 percent, Blue Panorama 14 percent, Air Albania 14 percent, Albawings 10 percent,” The Civil Aviation Authority announced.
Albanian Airlines
Albawings is currently the first Albanian airline that operates commercial and charter scheduled flights to Italian destinations and London Stansted. The company started its operation in 2016 with its Boeing 737-500 aircraft named Spirit of Tirana. The second aircraft was delivered to Tirana in December 2016 by the pilot and lead vocalist of Iron Maiden heavy metal band Bruce Dickinson.
The fleet of Albawings consists of three aircraft: two Boeing 737-400 and one Boeing 737-500
Air Albania
The new Albanian airline that was announced in early 2018 and its first route Tirana – Istanbul was operated by Lasgushi aircraft, an Airbus A319-100. On September 30th, 2019, Migjeni aircraft inaugurated Tirana – Bologna route.
Airlines currently operating at TIA-airport are:
Albawings
Tirana – Rimini
Tirana – Florence
Tirana – Ancona
Tirana – Bari
Tirana – Pisa
Tirana – Perugia
Tirana – Venice
Tirana – Bergamo
Tirana – Bologna
Tirana – Forli
Tirana – Genoa
Tirana – Milan
Tirana – Verona
Tirana – London STN
Air Albania
Tirana – Istanbul
Tirana – Rome
Tirana – Bologna
Tirana – Milan
Tirana – London
Alitalia (Italia Trasporto Aereo)
Tirana – Rome
Austrian Airlines
Tirana – Vienna
British Airways
Tirana – London Gatwick
Jet Airfly
Tirana – Brussels
Lufthansa
Tirana – Frankfurt
Tirana – Munich
Aegean
Tirana – Athens
Pegasus Airlines
Tirana – Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen
Air Serbia
Tirana – Belgrade
Wizz Air
Tirana – Vienna
Tirana – Brussels Charleroi
Tirana – Billund
Tirana – Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg
Tirana – Nice
Tirana – Paris Beauvais
Tirana – Paris Orly
Tirana – Berlin Brandenburg
Tirana – Cologne
Tirana – Dortmund
Tirana – Frankfurt Hahn
Tirana – Hamburg
Tirana – Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden
Tirana – Memmingen/Munich West
Tirana – Budapest
Tirana – Ancona
Tirana – Bari
Tirana – Bologna
Tirana – Catania
Tirana – Genoa
Tirana – Milan Bergamo
Tirana – Milan Mlpensa
Tirana – Pescara
Tirana – Pisa
Tirana – Rome Ciampino
Tirana – Rome Fiumicino
Tirana – Turin
Tirana – Venice Marco Polo
Tirana – Venice Treviso
Tirana – Verona
Tirana – Eindhoven
Tirana – Oslo Sandefjord Torp
Tirana – Barcelona el Prat
Tirana – Madrid
Tirana – Malmo
Tirana – Stockholm Skavsta
Tirana – Abu Dhabi
Tirana – London Luton
Tirana – Liverpul
Edelweiss
Tirana – Zurich
EasyJet
Tirana – Geneva
Tirana – London (Starting May 1, 2020, tickets on sale)
flynas
Tirana – Riyadh
flydubai
Tirana – Dubai
Alternatives – Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, Italy, and Macedonia
Fly to Korfu, Greece
If you plan to stay only in the south of Albania on the Ionic Sea, then you could also fly to Korfu. From Korfu one can take the ferry to arrive at Saranda in just 30 minutes with the fast ferry. The slower ferry is cheaper but takes 1:20 hours instead.
Fly to Prishtina, Kosovo
There are bus rides from Prishtina to Tirana several times a day and take around 5 hours time.
Fly to Podgorica, Montenegro
Bus rides from Podgorica take only around 4 hours.
Fly to Skopje, Macedonia
The bus rides from Skopje to Tirana are twice a day, once early in the morning and once late at night. This ride is longer and takes around 8 hours.
Fly to Bari, Italy
There are daily ferries from Bari to Durres. The ferry takes around 8-9 hours. Durres itself is just 45 minutes from Tirana.
Photo credit: TIA