The Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, said that the opening of new corridors with Albania for commercial flights brings environmental benefits, but also lowers the cost for travellers. 

During the official ceremony for the opening of air corridors with Albania, Kurti said that this step brings Kosovo closer to the normalization of its lower airspace. 

"By shortening the trajectory of trips to and from Kosovo, the travel time is reduced from 8 to 12 minutes. The reduction in flight time translates into significant reductions in fuel consumption, thus minimizing carbon dioxide emissions," said Kurti. 

"Beyond the environmental and infrastructural benefits, the shortened flight time also brings benefits for our emigrants, increasing the opportunities for more affordable ticket prices and for new destinations to and from Pristina airport", he added. 

The announcement of the opening of the air corridors was made on December 28, 2023. The German Ambassador to Kosovo, Jorn Rohde, said that the opening of the new airline routes for Kosovo was achieved after a 15-month teamwork with the authorities of Kosovo, Albania, but also with the help of the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR. 

He even called the opening of new corridors late, since according to him, this could have happened a few years ago. 

According to him, due to the longer flight path, the planes have spent more kerosene, polluting the environment. Rohde said that in 2022, 7.3 million additional kerosene was used, worth 3.3 million euros. 

He promised that they will continue the work to open other corridors, mentioning Montenegro. 

Since the post-war period, in 1999, flights to and from the Pristina International Airport have been carried out only through the air corridor that connects Kosovo with North Macedonia. 

The agreement with Albania, to use the air corridor of this country, was reached in 2020. 

This agreement provided for the opening of two air coordination points, Kukad and Arbër. 

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Kosovo (CAA), which manages the country's low airspace, the agreement has not been implemented due to some technical procedures that had to be approved by Albania and KFOR. 

Unlike the low airspace of Kosovo, which is managed by the CAA, the high airspace - above 6,200 meters, open to commercial traffic since 2014 - is under the control of Hungary, namely HungaroControl. This is because Kosovo has not yet reached the capacity to manage high airspace. 

In accordance with Resolution 1244 of the United Nations Security Council, but also with the current laws in Kosovo, the KFOR commander has been responsible for the security of Kosovo's airspace since 1999. 

There are two airports in Kosovo, the one in Pristina - for commercial flights - and the one in Gjakova - for military flights - which is not functional.