April 06, 2008

1. It is said that the factory in Gërdec was always going to be a danger to the area and the international airport, which it is why the factory should not have been built in that area. What do you think?

First of all, I would like to use this opportunity to express once again our deepest sympathy and compassion for the people who lost loved ones in this tragedy, or who themselves were injured.
With respect to your question, it is obvious that the location of such a business close to a residential area carries great risks. Let us hope that this kind of tragedy will never happen again.

2. Also concerning the factory, declarations have been made that trade in weapons has been undertaken through this airport. Do you have any evidence of this, or of the destination of weapons from the factory?

Tirana International Airport SHPK (TIA), is the managing company of Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza. Our duty is to guaranty safety and security on our premises and to maintain top quality service for our clients, which are the airlines, their passengers, freight handlers and the military, all of whom use our airport for their purposes. The same applies to air cargo: TIA follows international standards concerning duties concerning information and notification, import and export procedures, customs clearance, as well as safety and security when goods of any kind are stored, loaded or transported on our premises, regardless of origin or destination of such goods.

3. It appears that the Rinas airport concession has put on hold the functioning of Albania’s other airports, such as the one at Kukës, which might also be of importance for Albania. Has anything been done to change this situation?

First of all, when TIA won the concession for Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza, no other airport was operational in Albania. The Albanian government granted exclusivity for international flights to TIA in order to facilitate successful operations there. And we have proved since the granting of the concession that Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza is a success story with our excellent traffic developments.
In order to evaluate whether other airports in Albania might be operated successfully in the future, the government of Albania and TIA have, together, invited HOCHTIEF AirPort, because of its experience and expertise in airport management, to analyze the market potential and to forecast potential passenger developments in other regions of the country. After finalization of that study, all parties involved will discuss all options in light of the results.

4. Often there have been rumors of the quality of aircraft in service at TIA, particularly concerning their age and the danger that they present. What are your competences in this respect? Can you prohibit such aircraft from flying here?

All airlines possess a fleet of aircraft, and decide on which ones to use on particular sectors within their route network according to the number of passengers and the specifications of the airports. Each aircraft is licensed by the competent national authorities in the country of origin—for Albania this is the General Directorate of Civil Aviation—and undergoes regular checks. Before each flight, the pilots and engineers check the aircraft and only after respective clearances can an aircraft take off.
Not being experts in aircraft construction and maintenance it is not, and cannot be, the airport’s responsibility to give clearance for a specific aircraft. However, any airport, including TIA, performs every essential step to guarantee the safety and security of its clients and works closely with airlines and authorities to ensure passenger safety.

5. Can you tell us something about the organization, security measures and ceremony on the day of the visit by the US President, George W. Bush?

From the Airport’s point of view the visit of President Bush to Albania was a full success. Through this event TIA registered an important step towards the fulfillment of European standards. The capability to guarantee the safe arrival of one of the biggest aircraft in the world, a Boeing 747-200B, showed that TIA has raised its security and protection measures to the highest level while at the same time it reached its normal operating capacity; apart from all the efforts required to accommodate this aircraft and its staff, TIA also run smoothly all other flights scheduled for the day. There were no delays or cancellations and the normal schedule ran smoothly and independently of the extraordinary security measures that had to be followed.

6. Will we have a further extension of the airport?

With the signing of the loan agreements with our lenders EBRD, Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, Alpha Bank and American Bank of Albania on the 28 March 2008, we can say that the extension of the airport has now begun. This project, the Phase B of the fulfillment of the concession agreement, includes extension of the new passenger terminal, construction of other new buildings and investments in the modernization of our systems and equipment. The work is expected to begin this summer and will finish in 2009.
The extension of the new passenger terminal, which can be regarded as the most important part of this investment, will add thirteen check in desks and increase the capacity of the airport to more than 1.5 million passengers annually.

7. What are the most distant routes that Tirana International Airport has at the moment?
Currently, all direct scheduled flights from Tirana International Airport have destinations in Europe, of which London is the farthest. However, during the summer, TIA has increased numbers of charter flights, which often go much farther, such as for example to the United States.

8. Is the runway long enough to facilitate much longer flights?

Tirana International Airport has a runaway 2,750 meters in length. It is 45 meters wide and very well constructed. Thus, we can safely state that our infrastructure is able to accommodate the large aircraft needed to fly to more distant locations. This has been demonstrated through simulation but also confirmed in reality, with the above-mentioned arrival of Air Force One, president Bush’s aircraft, one of the largest, and hence long-haul, aircraft.
Thus, the distance to destinations offered by TIA is not linked to our capacity to accommodate large aircraft but rather is a commercial decision taken by airlines; our facilities do not represent a limit in this sense.

9. What is the volume of air cargo transported through TIA?

Cargo has registered a substantial increase in recent years. Previously, this means of transport had been little used, but since the opening of the new cargo terminal and the infrastructure improvements including the road that links the airport with Albania’s cities, there have been excellent results: last year, we recorded an increase of 65 per cent in the volume of cargo handled.

10. Can you give any information on the number of passengers using TIA since the beginning of the year, and what the future numbers are predicted to be?

During January and February, the number of passengers using our airport was 165,585, an excellent figure. Meanwhile, the number of flights in to and out of TIA is expected to increase during the summer. We will have two new scheduled flights—to and from Tel Aviv and Sharm el Sheikh—both twice per week. In addition, we expect a large number of charter flights during the holiday season. To sum up, we expect to record an increase in our performance in the coming months.

11. What can you say about the impact of the airport on the nation’s economy and the future impact it is expected to have?

We have always paid special attention to the effect that the Airport has on the development of other sectors of the Albanian economy and on its society. First, I like to mention the increasing number of employees at TIA and in the other companies that operate at or in its vicinity. The Airport is the major gateway to and from Albania, connecting people for business purposes and family reunions. Furthermore, TIA has made a special connection to other important sectors of the Albanian economy, such as tourism. Our contribution in preparing a tourist development plan for Preza, and also our efforts to promote the country and its potential through our participation at international events can be counted as significant steps we have taken in this direction.
Moreover, the examples we create by setting standards that were not previously present in the Albanian economy represent an important contribution. These examples start with having worked successfully with the Government of Albania in a Public-Private Partnership, on the basis of a concession agreement which can be a role model for other sectors and ventures. These examples continue with the standards we set with regard to the environment or the social development of the area.