Air Albania Ceases Operations, Future Uncertain
Air Albania’s future is uncertain after its licence has been suspended and Turkish Airlines is seeking to sell its stake.
Licence revocation
According to Albanian local media, the Civil Aviation Authority of the country has revoked the licence of national flag carrier Air Albania.
A government source said that Air Albania’s flight operations have been “temporarily suspended” by the Albanian Civil Aviation Authority.
The reason given for the licence revocation was Air Albania’s “failure to comply with civil aviation standards”.
Turkish Airlines stake
Last month, Turkish Airlines announced that it was looking to sell its 49% stake in Air Albania.
Turkish Airlines helped establish Air Albania in 2018 and even leased some of its planes to the Albanian aviation start-up to begin operations.
In a statement to the Istanbul Stock Exchange, Turkish Airlines stated that “our board of directors decided to sell all of the shares in Air Albania SHPK”.
The airline did not provide details about the divestment but noted that “any developments will be shared with our investors”.
Over the past years, Air Albania’s small route network has already shrunk to the airline essentially operating flights between Tirana and Istanbul only, which were also sold as codeshare flights with Turkish Airlines.
Future
At present, it is unclear what the future holds for Air Albania.
Without a licence, the Albanian carrier cannot operate flights or legally sell tickets to passengers.
It remains uncertain whether a buyer would be interested in an airline whose air operator’s certificate is suspended, or whether the Albanian government might nationalise the carrier or seek investors willing to restore it.
Albanian aviation: a short analysis
Personally, I would be sceptical about any attempt to revive Air Albania.
The Albanian aviation market is dominated by low-cost airlines.
In recent years, both Ryanair and Wizz Air have built up substantial operations from Tirana, with flights to destinations across Europe.
Although several national carriers also serve Tirana Airport, many offer seasonal flights only in summer.
Even though Albania has become a hugely popular tourist destination in recent years for Europeans, Americans, and Canadians, this demand is highly seasonal.
This is also why new entrants such as Air Transat – which in 2026 will connect Tirana directly with Toronto – only operate summer-seasonal flights.
Throughout the year, airlines such as Aegean, Austrian, and Swiss provide connectivity across Europe and beyond, which, combined with low-cost flights, appears sufficient to meet the demand of business travellers and the large Albanian migrant communities in western and northern Europe.
Although it is highly likely that Turkish Airlines will relaunch Istanbul-Tirana flights with their own aircraft, rather than codeshare flights operated by Air Albania – which is expected to happen in January 2026 – I do not think we will see any Albanian national carrier reappearing in the near future.
Conclusion
Air Albania has had its air operator’s certificate revoked by the country’s civil aviation authority, with flights on its sole remaining route between Istanbul and Tirana suspended.
Last month, Turkish Airlines announced that it intends to sell its stake in Air Albania, which appears to have been the final nail in the coffin for the Albanian flag carrier.
Given how dependent the Albanian carrier appeared to be on Turkish Airlines, it seems unlikely that any attempt to revive the national airline will take place.
