Ryanair is to add Tirana and Albania to its European network, expanding the airline’s reach.
Ryanair Boeing 737-800 taking off – Image, Economy Class and Beyond
The airline plans to add 00 weekly flights and 17 new routes to/from Albania as part of its Winter ’23 schedule.
Albania will become the 37th country within Ryanair’s network, opening up markets such as Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania Sweden and the UK, whilst providing its fare structure to those who wish to travel.
The airline plans to add:
- Bologna – 14 flights a week
- Bucharest – 6 flights a week
- Brussels Charleroi – 14 flights a week
- Catania – 14 flights a week
- Dusseldorf Weeze – 4 weekly flights
- Edibubugh – 6weekly flights
- Krakow – six weekly flights
- London Stansted – 28 weekly flights
- Manchester – 6 weekly flights
- Milan Bergamo – 28 weekly flights
- Paris Beauvais – 10 weekly flights
- Pisa – 14 weekly flights
- Prague 4 weekly flights
- Rome Ciampino – 18 weekly flights
- Stockholm Arlanda – 4 weekly flights
- Venice Treviso – 14 weekly flights
- Warsaw Modlin – 6 weekly flights.
Ryanair is estimating this will scale from 700,000 to over 1.5 million passengers per year, supporting 1000 local jobs.
In Quotes
From Tirana, Ryanair DAC’s CEO, Eddie Wilson said:
“As Europe’s largest airline, we are delighted to announce 200 weekly Ryanair flights to/from Albania starting from Winter ’23. These initial 17 new routes will grant immediate access to key inbound tourism markets such as, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania Sweden, and the UK whilst also providing competitive fares and increased connectivity for Albanians who want to visit home, or friends and family abroad.
We have worked closely with our partners here at Tirana Airport to launch these 17 new routes and hope to strengthen the relationship over time as we work together to drive inbound tourism and connectivity to Albania. These routes will allow millions of visitors from major cities across Europe to experience the wonders of Albania, from the white sand beaches of the Albania Riviera to the historical architecture of Unesco site Gjirokastër, and lively nightlife in Tirana.
To celebrate today’s announcement, we will launch a 3-day seat sale for these routes to/from Tirana Airport from €29.99 one way for travel from Oct’23 until Mar’24, which must be booked by 11th June, available only at Ryanair.com.”
Mr. Musa Kastrati, Senior Vice President of Kastrati Group, said:
“On behalf of Tirana International Airport, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Ryanair for their remarkable trust in the potential of the Albanian market.
We welcome Ryanair’s decision to operate flights to and from Tirana International Airport, providing affordable and accessible air travel options, which will undoubtedly benefit both inbound and outbound travelers.
I am confident that through the extensive network of Ryanair, Tirana International Airport will contribute to the further development of passenger choices, tourism, and the economy of Albania. We look forward to a fruitful partnership with Ryanair, as we work together to build memorable journeys for passengers traveling to and from our beautiful nation.”
Toe to toe with Wizzair
It seems Ryanir is gearing up for a fight with Wizzair, which is the dominant operator at Tirana Airport (other operators either have some sort of regular operation to one or two airports – or seasonal traffic).
It’ll be interesting to see what Wizzair will do to counter the Ryanair threat – remembering they can pretty much drop a base in, without much notice and go for a competitive kill when they choose to.
We could well be looking at competitive and interesting times at Tirana Airport…
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