Going through the topic.
I have landed in Pristina flying commercial, I would like to know if its possible with my airliner. Can’t find any information.
I was supposed to fly to Tirana in September of last year and went through the formalities to obtain PPR from the Albanian CAA. About the same as obtaining the permission from the Macedonians. Unfortunately I only made it to Ohrid, and because of poor weather (there was a frontal system that lingered for a week) I did not make it to LATI. Instead I flew VFR from Ohrid to Mostar, via Vlorë, Durrës, Shkodër and Dubrovnik.
Flying is quite regulated in Albania, and I believe this is mostly due to light airplanes having been known to be used by drug smugglers that land on beaches, makeshift runways, or even at the Kuçovë airbase. Around the time I was in Albania the last time, an Italian registered Saratoga (?) crash landed on a makeshift runway in the Lalëz district. No drugs were found, but he was probably making a pick-up. Another widely publicised crash took place in 2014 and the pilot was sentenced to 15 years of prison.
Apart from LATI there is an airport in Kukës, but AFAIK it is not yet open for international traffic. The Albanian authorities are trying to break the monopoly of LATI as the sole port of entry in order to create some competition. As a matter of fact the prime minister just announced a few months ago that they have created a consortium with Turkish interests to rebuild the former Vlorë airbase into an airport.
Albania is beautiful from the air, but the GA opportunities are limited. LATI, which in practical terms is the only accessible airfield, does have Avgas, or at least the did in September of last year, contrary to many reports. I received the price list and the price level seems somewhat lower than the Greek airports. I do not have any first hand experience with the reality of the prices, nor with the services on the ground.
I have been going to Albania regularly since 1995 and have seen how the country has evolved. Over the last 10 years a lot of renovation has taken place in Tirana, and they now have plenty of very nice hotels that strive to pursue western standards at very competitive prices. There is a lot of nightlife around the Blloku area, including restaurants with amazing and inexpensive food. For those interested in history there are quite a few things of interest in Tirana for a two-day stay. Beyond that you will want to go to Krujë, Berat, Gjirokaster, Korçë, Pogradec, Saranda, Butrint, or Korçë – by car.
A year has gone by since last post. Any more info on the GA opportunities in Albania? Looks like a very scenic country.
Hello Peter,
Yes, this is the Berat (more precisely) Kuçova airbase. It’s worth checking it on google earth, handfuls of migs on the parkings at the end of the taxiway.
Albanian Air Force doesn’t operate planes anymore, only helicopters. They recently bought a few Cougars to be up to NATO standards. They basically have no planes to operate the runway, but they may be maintaining it in order to be useable by NATO planes.
They’re actually selling their former planes, if anyone is interested in an Antonov 2, Nanchang CJ6 or any mig (15, 17, 21), they can be bought for quite cheap ;)
Benoit
I went to Albania in 2006. It was an “interesting” visit, to Tirana. Probably posted this before… hard to believe it was 10 years ago!
The only active airbase with a runway in near Berat / Kuçova, the runway seems fine there, but it is military and I don’t know if it is possible to get a permission. Would be fun though, then use the 2km long taxiway and park next to the MIGs…
There is an airport I saw from the air, not shown on any current charts but showing on the 1998 US ONC charts, and it has a long straight taxiway running from the middle of the runway straight into a hill/mountain. No activity was evident, nor was anything visible on any of a number of subsequent overflights. I guess that must be Berat. Can Albania be operating a real air force today?
Sarajevo is on the list but there is no avgas so it would be done from Brac, or similar.
Hi guys,
I’m a french pilot, VFR only so far but hopefully this will evolve to an IR rating soon…
I’ve been travelling a lot to Albania for professional projects (i’m a photographer) and can give you a bit more input about albanian airports / airfields:
A permission is required from the albanian CAA in order to enter the country. Apparently this is pretty easy to obtain, and so far LATI is the only open airfield in the country. I doubt Korce / Gjirokaster are still useable as these were grass fields (they operated migs there though), which musn not have been maintained in the past 20 years at least. Vlorë airfield isn’t even visible on google earth…
Gjäder runway and taxiway (which was used as a secondary runway back in the day) are now obstructed by large concrete blocks, you can’t land there anymore (unless you have goood STOL performance and can land between two blocks).
The only active airbase with a runway in near Berat / Kuçova, the runway seems fine there, but it is military and I don’t know if it is possible to get a permission. Would be fun though, then use the 2km long taxiway and park next to the MIGs…
Korce runway is apparently a bit damaged and the airport is closed, but it should open soon due to an agreement with the shareholders of TIA airport, which was so far the only airport in the country where international flight could land, making it economically impossible for Kukes to open. Rumors are saying Wizzair even plans to go to Kukes soon. I have no information about approach plates / navaids in Kukes (pretty mountainous terrain, there is a 2000m+ peak pretty close!).
The biggest problem these days is to get permission for VFR flights inside the country. There have been massive drugs smuggling problems using small GA planes to / from italy, a few ones crashed and some got caught. It is a very sensible topic in the country right now, fake rumors spread very soon, and an Austrian diplomat who operated an ultralight from Gjäder saw his aircraft grounded after ridiculous accusations… Basically if people see a light aircraft, they assume it’s used for drug trafficking.
I would love to go there one of these days though, so if anyone here is looking for a co-pilot to share the ride i’d be more than happy to do so!
Would be good fun to go to Macedonia too (Ohrid airport must be a beautiful landing), Bosnia (few airports in Mostar, Sarajevo and Tuzla at least), even Serbia (heard several time you can find Avgas for around 1€/l!!!).
Benoit
If this guy did it without consequences it should be fine. I dont think theres much to ask for permission on a runway where people bike on :)
Also we’ve upgraded to modern M4 rifle security actually ;) But seconded on being careful. There seems to be a ramp at the airport however. People on the runway? Just buzz them ;)
That’s brilliant, and with a very funny choice of music and the sepia colouring 
The runway looks good enough for a Tupolev with one engine INOP. Certainly good enough for the next EuroGA fly-in.
What about permissions or, ahem, is this “just Albania”? My guess, with all the AK47 security at LATI, one does need to be slightly careful about this… Or is this solved with contacts among the local “business community”?
Peter, you found it! airports notable for having a hangar in the mountains. In this video
it seems like this guy was able to use the field just fine.
