Albatros Airways

Albatros Airways
IATA ICAO Call sign
4H LBW ALBANWAYS
Founded2004
Ceased operations2006
HubsTirana International Airport Nënë Tereza
Fleet size1
Destinations8
HeadquartersTirana, Albania
Key peopleAlbens Vokopola, Valer Hoxha, Aleksandër Hoxha, Tritan Anamali, Fatmir Prifti,

Albatros Airways Sh.p.k was a low-cost airline based in Tirana in Albania. It flew to destinations in Italy such as Genoa, Milan, Pescara, Pisa, Rimini, Venice, Verona, and in Turkey (Istanbul) using Fokker 100 aircraft[1]. Its main base was Rinas Mother Teresa Airport (TIA), Tirana.

History

The airline was established in 2004 and started operations on 3 November.[2]

On 1 September 2006 the airline was grounded, only by a telephone call by the Albanian aviation authorities on 31 August 2006, because of unpaid airport and air traffic control fees,[3] and, according to local media, it was advised to stop selling tickets. The grounding led to heated political debates. The opposition and the management accused the government of having acted against the airline violating the free market economy. On the other side the office of the President of Albania was accused of having favoured the air carrier.[4]

Destinations

These were the scheduled international destinations as of July 2006:

Domestic

Albania

International

Italy

Fleet

As of August 2006 the Albatros Airways fleet includes:[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ World Airline Directory 2006, Flight International supplement, p. 34
  2. ^ World Airline Directory 2006, Flight International supplement, p. 34
  3. ^ CH-Aviation 9 September 2006
  4. ^ "Albanian opposition parliamentarians protest at the government building - Tirana Times". 24 September 2006. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
  5. ^ Flight International, 3–9 October 2006