The Minister of Infrastructure in Kosovo, Liburn Aliu, announced that Kosovo has opened its air corridors with Albania.

Through a Facebook post in the early hours of Thursday, he stated that flights to Western countries will be shortened by almost 15 minutes.

“From January 1, compatriots, besides traveling without visas, will also save even more time,” Aliu said.

He referred to the visa liberalization for Kosovo citizens, which came into effect on January 1, 2024.

Kosovo citizens have been the only ones in the Western Balkans unable to move without visas in the Schengen free movement zone.

Albion Idrizi, an aviation master, said earlier to Radio Free Europe that after the opening of the air corridor between Kosovo and Albania, in addition to shortening flight time, ticket prices will also decrease.

Currently, according to him, the average price of a one-way ticket from Kosovo to all EU countries is 140 euros. With the reduction in flight time, this price could drop by up to 6 percent, or 8 euros, says Idrizi, an entrepreneur in travel and tourism in Croatia and Kosovo.

Since the post-war period in 1999, flights to and from Pristina International Airport have been conducted only through the air corridor connecting Kosovo with North Macedonia.

The agreement with Albania to utilize the air corridor of this country was reached in 2020.

This agreement envisages the opening of two coordinating air points, Kukad and Arbër.

According to the Kosovo Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which manages the country’s lower airspace, the agreement has not been implemented due to some technical procedures that needed approval from Albania and the NATO mission in Kosovo, KFOR.

In contrast to Kosovo’s lower airspace managed by CAA, the upper airspace – above 6,200 meters, open to commercial traffic since 2014 – is under the control of Hungary, specifically HungaroControl. This is because Kosovo has not yet reached the capacity to manage upper airspace.

In accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 1244, as well as current laws in Kosovo, the commander of KFOR has been responsible for the security of Kosovo’s airspace since 1999.

Millions of people travel to and from Pristina International Airport “Adem Jashari” each year. Switzerland, Germany, Turkey, Austria, and the United Kingdom have been the most frequent destinations so far. / Euronews Albania with RFE – https://euronews.al/en/kosovo-opens-air-corridors-with-albania/