TIRANA (Albania), November 5 (SeeNews) – Passenger traffic at Albania's sole international airport rose by 9.0% to 1.06 million in the first nine months of 2009, the airport said.
The Tirana International Airport (TIA) handled 15,260 flights through September, 4.5% up on the year. Cargo traffic increased by 16% to 1,217 tonnes, the airport said in a statement on its website.
Low-cost Albanian carrier Belle Air maintained a 42.1% market share in the first nine months, the airport said. Italy’s flag carrier Alitalia came second with 13.5%, while Albanian Airlines came third with 8.9%. Currently, 13 airlines fly in to and out of TIA, connecting directly the Albanian capital city with 32 destinations.
In September TIA completed a 20 million euro ($29.67 million) terminal extension, aimed at accommodating 1.8 million passengers per year.
TIA has been managed by U.S.-German consortium Tirana International Airport under a 20-year build-own-operate-transfer concession since April 2005. The airport, located 25 kilometres northwest of Tirana, handled 1.267 million passengers in 2008, up 14.6% from 2007, and 1,987 tonnes of cargo, up 17.2%.