Management

Dritan Gjonbalaj

Dritan Gjonbalaj is Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority. In this position he was appointed by the Government of the Republic of Kosovo in September 2008 and was reappointed for a second five-year term in November 2013. Since 2000 has exercised various responsibilities of importance in the civil aviation sector, including that of Deputy Director of the Civil Aviation Regulatory Office during 2006-2008. He has a Masters in Aviation Law from the University of Leiden, Netherlands. Mr. Gjonbalaj is a member of the European Air Law Association. He has participated in the drafting of a large number of bylaws implementing the Law on Civil Aviation and creating a modern regulatory framework of civil aviation in our country. He has led Republic of Kosovo delegations in negotiations that resulted in entering into bilateral air transport agreements with several states. He has also represented the country in various international civil aviation fora. In June 2015 he was chosen head of Joint Services Provision Area Initiative (JSPA) Initiative, which besides Republic of Kosovo includes Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro and Hungary.

Kushtrim Musa

Kushtrim Musa is Director of Flight Safety Department. In this position he was appointed in January 2009. Mr. Musa is professional pilot and flight instructor graduated in North American Institute of Aviation in South Carolina, USA in 1998. In his career as a professional pilot he accumulated 2000 flight hours with the Fulton Flight Services Inc. headquartered in Atlanta. Since 2000 he exercised various responsibilities in the civil aviation sector. In 2003 he received a Diploma in Civil Aviation Management from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in Montreal, Canada. In 2005 Mr. Musa was certified as an Aviation Security Professional Manager (AVSEC PM) by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. In 2006 he is appointed as Chief of Flight Standards and Aviation Security in the Civil Aviation Regulatory Office. In 2012 he was appointed to the position of Secretary of the National Civil Aviation Security Committee by the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kosovo.

Lendita Kika

Lendita Kika-Berisha is Quality Manager at the Civil Aviation Authority. She is also the appointed internal auditor for the quality management system and holds CAA credentials as Aerodromes Inspector. She was appointed to the position of the Quality Manager in August 2011. Before that, Mrs. Kika-Berisha was Director of Aerodromes Department for five years. In 2005 she was employed at the Civil Aviation Regulatory Office, in the Aerodromes Department.

Previous experience shows five years in civil aviation industry, three of which with Swiss International Airlines as a deputy station manager, one year with Austrian Airlines and another year in the Air Operations and Movement Control Department within the United Nations Mission in Kosovo.

She has an Aviation Masters in Business Administration degree from Danube University in Austria and has followed trainings from international aviation training institutes, such as: IATA, UKCAA, Singapore Aviation Academy, JAA TO, Swiss Aviation Academy etc.

Besnike Ukmata

Besnike Ukmata is Director of International Cooperation and Economic Regulation Department at the Civil Aviation Authority since its establishment in 2009. She has exercised similar responsibilities within the Civil Aviation Regulatory Office during the period 2005-2008. She has worked for two years (2003-2005) at Prishtina International Airport where she has held the position of the Airport Incorporation Project Manager and Company Secretary. Mrs. Ukmata holds an MBA in Aviation degree, gained at University of Danube in Austria and has attended great number of professional trainings in international aviation training institutions. She has been delegated by the Director General the responsibility of the European Integration Officer at the CAA. Mrs. Ukmata acts as focal point of the European Commission in the Republic of Kosovo for the obligations and implementation of the European Common Aviation Area Agreement in our country.

Arianit Islami

Arianit Islami is Director of Air Navigation Services Department. In this position he was appointed in January 2009. Since 1999 he has exercised various responsibilities in the civil aviation sector, including that of the Chief of Air Navigation Services. From 2009 he lectures on the subject of Safety Management Systems (SMS), initially at Prishtina University, Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering and later also at College of Applied Technical Sciences Tempulli. Mr. Islami graduated Electrical Engineering at the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering of Prishtina University. He holds a Masters Degree from University of Civil Aviation of France on Satellite-Based Communication, Navigation and Surveillance. In 2003 he received a Diploma with Distinction in Air Navigation Services Management and Diploma in Civil Aviation Management from IATA Aviation Training and Development Institute with centers in Montreal, Geneva and Singapore. He is also certified as a safety auditor by the EUROCONTROL Institute of Air Navigation Services and has successfully completed all the required trainings to accomplish tasks for which he is responsible. From 2009 he is a member of the auditing team for the verification of safety management system and certification of air navigation service providers in Albania, and later in Macedonia. He is a member of the research team for Applications in Air Traffic Management, at MAIAA laboratory at University of Civil Aviation of France.

Burim Dinarama

Burim Dinarama is Director of Aerodromes Department. In this position he was appointed in September 2011. Mr. Dinarama is employed in the Civil Aviation Authority of Kosovo since its establishment in 2009, with having previously worked in the Civil Aviation Regulatory Office since 2006. He had his first experience in civil aviation during the period 2001-2004 when he was responsible for the implementation of major infrastructure projects at Prishtina International Airport. Prior to that he exercised various responsibilities in the construction sector, mainly in the construction of roads and bridges in various projects funded by the European Commission and the Government of Kosovo. He has been in charge of many important processes in the Aerodromes Department such as certification of Prishtina International Airport, certification of ground service providers, certification of the fuel supplier, approval of the first private heliport in Kosovo etc. He graduated as civil engineer at University of Prishtina.

Eset Berisha

Eset F. Berisha was born on 17 March 1977 in Prishtina. Since 2010 performs the function of Legal Adviser – Head of Legal and Regulatory Affairs Office at the Civil Aviation Authority of Kosovo. From 2001 until 2010, he exercised various administrative – legal functions in the administration of the International UN Mission in Kosovo and Civil International Office of the Civilian International Representative, which is responsible for the implementation of the final status of Kosovo. He has a bachelor degree in law from the “Fama” College and has a master degree in European Studies at the “Centre International de Formation Europeéne,” Nice of France, in one of five Schools of Excellence for Studying European Integration. He attended and finished a number of professional trainings in the field of aviation right at the Leiden University in the Netherlands and in IATA, Geneva, Switzerland. He authored a publication for the periodical of the University DePaul in Chicago of US, IALP, in October 2013, in relation to the Civil Aviation in Kosovo.

He speaks fluently Serbian and English language and has good knowledge of German language.

He lives with his spouse and two children in Prishtina.