"2028, full integration in the European civil aviation system" - Et'hemaj: Academy, the most important project for 2025
According to official data, civil air transport is the main supporter of tourism in the country, where over 87% of tourists traveled by air. From January to October, 10.4 million foreigners entered Albania. In 2024, Rinas international airport turns out to be the airport with the fastest growing flow in Europe. But what are the plans for the entry of new airlines and the addition of destinations where it is intended to have transoceanic trips that will no longer limit the number of tourists? Invited to the GDP show by Alida Lula on SCAN tv, the director of the Albanian Civil Aviation Authority, Maksim Et'hemaj, spoke about the expansion of the runway at the international airport of Tirana and the goal that in 2028, Albania will be 100% compliant with European standards. of civil aviation.
"Our objective, stated in every address I make to Civil Aviation, is that at the end of 2028, Albania will be 100% compliant with European civil aviation standards. What I want to tell you today is that the runway of Rinas has been shortened by about 400 m, because work has begun on the second phase of preparing the airport for flights crossing the continent. So today at this airport, work is being done to extend the runway. In connection with the first flight to the USA or Canada, the first thing is to secure the infrastructure. So a 3 km bigger track. Wide runways, landing for large aircraft. There are several influencing factors. As soon as we have the infrastructure ready for Vlora Airport, which we actually expect to be ready sometime in May 2025, a team from the American Aviation Authority will come to verify its standards. And the sooner this process ends, the sooner the American airlines that have shown interest will start operations. We have about 210-230 thousand Albanians who fly but also from the USA. It is a very big market for them to fly masts to Albania. That's why we expand the Tirana airport, that's why the Vlora airport was built with a 3.2 km runway, so the construction of the infrastructure starts first, the certification by us as the Albanian Civil Aviation Authority and the verification of the certification by the American Civil Aviation Authority, then the business is there" - said the head of the Albanian Civil Aviation." - says Et'hemaj
2025 will have a number of innovations in infrastructure, but the delivery of the Vlora airport is important, where it is intended to have transoceanic trips that will no longer limit the number of tourists.
"Undoubtedly, the airport of Vlora will be open in 2025. We are working intensively, I even want to tell you that the work has started with the airport certification process, recruitment - training of the staff that will be done from the Munich airport and all this in order for the summer season with all the charter flights that want to fly to Vlora to have a new airport infrastructure" - adds Et'hemaj.
Meanwhile, regarding the airport of Kukës, Et'hemaj spoke about the opportunities.
"Kukës Airport has other opportunities, which means, can it become a flight school, can it become a drone testing center, because it is infrastructure. The Albanian government owns 1 vitalized airport. Today we have bayraktar drones. It's infrastructure, it's drones that are for the security of the nation, so every airport infrastructure is a valuable asset for the economy. So Kukësi may indeed have minimal flights, not throughout the season, but used for other purposes. We are in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense to revitalize it to provide other elements. So the infrastructures must be developed" - says Et'hemaj.
For Albanian Civil Aviation, the most ambitious project is the Academy, where Et'hemaj from the GDP show has invited young people to join as the salaries are competitive.
"Salary has many factors. That is, an aircraft technician who has finished university and then enters a 2-year school, or who takes him from high school and gives him another education, for 2 years, he can receive a salary of 3000 euros. The Academy is the most important project we have as Civil Aviation for 2025. The final is the full integration into the European civil aviation system in 2028. The call to the youth for this Academia: Everything in this world can be bought, you can buy a car it doesn't matter if it's yours or your parent's, you can buy a laptop, but the only thing that can't be bought and is yours is the knowledge you have. So, if you think that you value yourself, and you value yourself by gaining experience, invest in knowledge. The Civil Aviation Academy is exactly what enables you, it gives you knowledge in the field of civil aviation, only those are human, the others are temporary" - adds the head of the Albanian Civil Aviation Maksim Et'hemaj
As for the price of tickets, Et'hemaj has emphasized that competition and the removal of monopolies has made Albania one of the countries with the cheapest tickets.
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