Tour operators expected that this summer, they would start using the Vlora International Airport to welcome tourists, though with limited flights, but something like this is impossible.

A situation like this has put local tour operators in difficulty with foreign agencies, which are already faced with the fact that flights will have to be made from Tirana International Airport for hotels that have been booked with prepayment in Vlora. However, even this is not entirely possible since there are no free frequencies of flights for the requested dates.

The head of the Albanian Tourist Union, Rrahman Kasa, said that the contracts with guarantees for hotels in this area were concluded last summer under the promise that flights would start from the new airport, but this is no longer possible. Prepaid contracts have been applied for the first time on this scale in the city of Vlora, where several hotels have been selected and dedicated to organized Polish tourists.

“Last year, we were told that the airport would start flights maybe in the summer and that it would be possible to do at least this for charters with tourists, but they have now confirmed to us that this is impossible as it has to go through some standard security and certification procedures. This has put us in difficulty because we have prepaid several hundred rooms for the entire season. Foreign agencies, on the other hand, have the right to request the execution of the contract and say that flights to Vlora were promised, by excluding flights to Tirana. However, we are in negotiations with them, but there is a problem that there are no more free frequencies from Tirana Airport. So there are no schedules for these planes to land because the number of flights is high,” Kasa told Monitor.

He underlined that it remains unclear what will happen, but the parties are negotiating to find the most suitable alternative so that prepaid contracts can be used.

Organized tourism in the country, especially with the Polish and Czech markets, has been growing year by year, and the region that has received attention has been mainly Golem and Durres due to the large capacity structures but also the proximity to Tirana airport where transfers are more convenient.

Other regions, such as Vlora and Saranda, although they have capacities that can be used with guaranteed contracts, have not been included in this type of relationship in previous years due to their distance from Tirana Airport.

The entry into operation of Vlora Airport was expected to change this panorama, but it seems not for this summer. In the first week of May, the first certification flight was carried out at this airport, where government representatives, during the ceremony highlighted that the investment so far has reached the value of Euro 140 million.

Beyond the economic benefits that were highlighted at this ceremony, it still remains unclear when flights will fully start at the new airport.