Kukes Airport
| Shaikh Zayed International Airport | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | LAKU |
| IATA code | not forgiven |
| Coordinates | |
| Height above MSL | 353 m (1158 ft ) |
| Transport links | |
| Distance from the city center | 3 km south of Kukës |
| Basic data | |
| opening | 2007/2010 |
| surface | 57 ha |
| Capacity ( PAX per year) |
100,000 |
| Employees | 40 |
| Start-and runway | |
| 01/19 | 1900 m × 30 m asphalt |
The Kukes airport ( Albanian Aeroporti Zajed bin Sultan ) is Albania's second-functioning civilian passenger airport . The airport a few kilometers south of the north-east Banan town of Kukës near the village of Shtiqën is well developed and functional, but has only started operations very sparingly: the first flights were carried out in May 2009, but there was never any scheduled air traffic.
Usage potential and problems
The potential for air traffic is not great in the poor Albanian northeast. The government has not yet drawn up a business plan. In particular, since the opening of the motorway from Durrës to Kukës , there has been no need for intra-Albanian flights: journeys by car to the Albanian centers on the coast have become many hours shorter and are very cheap.
Thanks to the new motorway, the airport is in direct competition with Tirana Airport , which is only around an hour and a half away. Another potential potential exists in international travel to Kosovo . Kukës, which is 45 kilometers from Prizren , could serve as a commercial airport for the southwest of Kosovo and thus relieve Prishtina airport , which has to be closed again and again due to unfavorable weather conditions. Originally, the airport is said to have been built primarily for the transport of goods.
No international flights could be operated to and from Kukës until 2016. Hochtief Airport , the operator of Tirana Airport (today Avialliance ), contractually secured an exclusive right for 20 years in 2004 that all international flights to Albania must go through Tirana Airport. In 2006, the operators of Tirana Airport denied that they had an interest in operating Kukës Airport as well. But they would support the responsible authorities in developing the airport. According to the contract, the exclusive right is only valid up to a certain number of passengers at Tirana Airport, which has since been exceeded. Hochtief Airport and the Albanian government renegotiated the details of the concession agreement as early as December 2010 with the aim of not only being able to start international flight operations in Kukës, but also building a new airport near Saranda . But it wasn't until April 2016 that the contracting parties were able to come to an agreement. Tirana Airport loses the exclusive right to international flight connections and in return benefits from an extension of the concession by two years. The government said it wanted the airport to be operational by the end of the year, which would create around 200 jobs, but still require investments of around three million euros. In April 2018, Prime Minister Edi Rama said he was confident that flight operations would begin by the end of the year.
Helicopters of the Albanian Air Force have also been spotted at the airport .
history
A first runway was set up in the interwar period under King Zogu on the Fusha e meteorite south of Kukës ( 353 m above sea level ). In 1941 it was expanded by the Italian occupiers into a small airfield, which over time took up around 17 hectares. During the communist regime this was only used for military purposes and emergencies and remained a restricted military area afterwards .
When tens of thousands of Albanian refugees from Kosovo stranded in Kukës during the Kosovo war , the place became of international interest. The very poor transport connections of the mountainous region in the Albanian northeast became apparent, which made it difficult to take care of the refugees. In a short time, in 1999, the airfield was poorly expanded by Emirati military engineers in order to enable first aid flights. According to eyewitnesses, a Boeing should also have landed. On June 11, a Lockheed Hercules of the Royal Air Force had an accident while taking off : the machine hit a fence and other objects on the ground, whereupon the take-off was aborted. Fuel from a damaged wing ignited, destroying most of the aircraft. The crew had received incorrect information and assumed a longer runway.
Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayid Al Nahyan from the United Arab Emirates then offered a donation of 14.2 million US dollars to build an airport in Kukës, with which he also wanted to express his gratitude for the poor local population, who were generous with the Kosovar refugees received and supported. In May 2003 the groundbreaking ceremony took place for the new airport named after the first President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan . At the end of 2006, the construction work, carried out by a Kuwaiti company that has been active in Albania since 1992 , was largely completed. However, the construction resulted in numerous other costs at the expense of the Albanian state and is said to have cost around 30 million US dollars.
During the construction, protests broke out by villagers in the neighborhood who were dissatisfied with the compensation payments for expropriations.
Radar and other flight control facilities were only set up after 2006. The Albanian Transport Minister Sokol Olldashi said that the airport has been ready to handle arrivals and departures since September 2007 . At that time, the necessary tests were completed. Although the airport has had an operating license since then, no flight movements have been detected.
Commercial flights between Tirana and Kukës were offered for the first time in May 2009 and flight operations officially began. It has not been confirmed whether the announced weekly flights by an Albanian company with a small chartered plane were carried out regularly. Negotiations with the operators of Tirana Airport at the end of 2008 had not led to any new results: Furthermore, international flights were not allowed to be handled via Kukës.
At the end of June 2010 the airport was officially opened in the presence of Ilir Meta , Deputy Prime Minister of Albania, and Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayid Al Nahyan , Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates and son of the namesake. The construction costs were given as 22 million US dollars. No details were given about future use.
After Tirana Airport lost its exclusive right to international flight connections in April 2016, a concession to operate the airport for a period of 35 years was awarded to two Albanian companies in January 2019 . The concessionaires want to invest eight million euros in the expansion of the airport. The runway is to be extended to 2200 meters and widened to 45 meters, the airport area is to be expanded, and the terminal is to be significantly enlarged so that three to four aircraft with around 180–190 passengers can be handled at the same time. The apron and the parking lot must be expanded accordingly. Prime Minister Edi Rama visited the airport in April 2019 and announced that the necessary work would be completed within two years. The runway will be widened and extended to 2,400 meters, and a new terminal and tower are planned. A year later the terminal was demolished and construction work for a new terminal building was underway.
Infrastructure
The small airport meets international category C . It is designed for the handling of medium-sized aircraft with 75 to 100 passengers, four of which can be parked at the same time. The airport was operated by the Albanian state until 2019. Since the airport is not in use, maintenance was problematic.
In addition to the runway and apron, a passenger terminal , a feeder road, a tower , a warehouse, runway lighting and a fire station were built. The 57 hectare site is surrounded by a 5000 meter long fence. The baggage handling systems were supplied by the German manufacturer Hukom .
literature
- Gazeta Start (November 1, 2008): Aeroporti i Kukësit: Një dhuratë apo një bela… (Albanian)
Web links
- Airport data in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Shqip.dk: Shqipëria do të ketë aeroportin e dytë kombëtar. In: SETimes.com. September 25, 2003, archived from the original on January 24, 2011 ; Retrieved September 23, 2009 .
- ↑ a b Shekulli (August 11, 2009): Aeroporti i Kukësit, pista do të shtohet me 250 m. Archived from the original on April 2, 2010 ; Retrieved September 24, 2009 .
- ↑ a b Shekulli (May 17, 2009): Projektohet një linjë avionësh Tiranë – Kukës. Archived from the original on March 30, 2010 ; Retrieved September 23, 2009 .
- ↑ a b c d Alblink (May 16, 2009): Nis funksionimin aeropirti i Kukesit. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013 ; Retrieved September 23, 2009 .
- ↑ a b c d e f UNDP, EU, Albanian Government, Këshilli i Qarkut Kukës: Kukës Region Tourism and Environment Promotion - Assessement Study. In: United Nations Development Program Albania. February 2010, accessed September 7, 2012 .
- ↑ "Mbyllet dera" për ndërtimin e aeroportit turistik në Sarandë. In: Shekulli. January 10, 2012, archived from the original on February 3, 2012 ; Retrieved January 11, 2012 (Albanian).
- ^ Albania Seeks to Develop Domestic Air Transport. In: SETimes.com. February 22, 2009, archived from the original on January 26, 2011 ; accessed on September 24, 2009 .
- ^ A b Gazeta Express (May 18, 2009): Tiranë-Kukës, me avion. Retrieved September 23, 2009 .
- ↑ Press release from Tirana Airport Partners from January 19, 2006: Tirana Airport Partners denies interest in managing Kukes Airport
- ↑ Fluturime nga Kukësi dhe Saranda. In: Bota Sot. January 2, 2011, accessed January 16, 2016 (Albanian).
- ^ A b Government of Albania and Tirana International Airport sign the agreement to liberalize international flights. Press release. In: Tirana Airport. April 1, 2016, accessed April 1, 2016 .
- ↑ Agreement reached, Kukes airport opened. In: Top Channel. April 1, 2016, accessed April 1, 2016 .
- ↑ Kukes Airport flight need 7 months and a 3 million EUR investment. In: Top Channel. April 4, 2016, accessed April 4, 2016 .
- ↑ Interpelancë me banorë të Qarkut Kukës. Government of Albania, April 5, 2018, archived from the original on October 14, 2018 ; Retrieved April 7, 2018 (Albanian).
- ↑ Photo receipt from summer 2010
- ↑ Shekulli: Kriza botërore prek aeroportin e Kukësit. March 22, 2009, accessed January 16, 2016 .
- ↑ a b c d e Gazeta Start (November 1, 2008): Aeroporti i Kukësit: Një dhuratë apo një bela… (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved September 23, 2009 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b TRT-World Shqip (December 25, 2008): Do të hapet aeroporti i Kukësit. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved September 24, 2009 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ↑ Infra Trans Project Ltd .: Consultation for first step of runway rehabilitation of Kukes Airport. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved September 24, 2009 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
- ^ ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed Hercules C.1 XV298 Kukes. In: Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved January 5, 2015 .
- ^ A b Gulf News of June 27, 2010: UAE strengthens ties with Albania. Retrieved June 28, 2010 .
- ^ A b MAK-Albania Company Profile. Archived from the original on April 26, 2010 ; Retrieved September 23, 2009 .
- ↑ a b Shekulli (May 6, 2007): Aeroporti i Kukësit, 22 mln USD “të ngrira” në pistën pa avionë. Archived from the original on September 5, 2007 ; Retrieved September 24, 2009 .
- ^ A b Jean-Arnault Dérens, Laurent Geslin in: Le Monde diplomatique of May 26, 2009: The highway of national corruption. Retrieved September 24, 2009 .
- ↑ a b Gazeta Shqip datum = 2009-05-19: Kukës, fluturim provë në aeroport. In: Info Arkiva. Retrieved January 16, 2016 (Albanian).
- ^ Shekulli (August 29, 2008): Aeroporti i Kukësit, ende asnjë fluturim. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009 ; Retrieved September 24, 2009 .
- ^ Shekulli: Olldashi: Aeroporti është në dorë të kompanive. May 18, 2009, accessed January 16, 2016 (Albanian).
- ↑ a b Shekulli: Aeroporti i Kukësit, shteti negociata me TIA-n. In: Info Arkiva. December 25, 2008, accessed January 16, 2016 (Albanian).
- ↑ Aeroporti i Kukësit jepet me koncesion, ja kush është fituesi dhe çfarë parashikohet të bëhet. In: Panorama online. January 11, 2019, accessed January 13, 2019 (Albanian).
- ↑ Aeroporti në Kukës do të jetë gati për 2 vjet. In: Vizion Plus. April 6, 2019, Retrieved April 6, 2019 (Albanian).
- ↑ Radio Televizioni Shqiptar : Aeroporti i Kukësit, nis puna për zgjerimin e terminalit on YouTube , May 1, 2020, accessed on May 2, 2020.
- ↑ a b Tirana Observer of June 24, 2010: Aeroporti i Kukësit merr emrin e sheikut të Emirateve Arabe. Archived from the original on June 24 ; Retrieved June 28, 2010 .
- ↑ References. In: Hukom. Retrieved January 16, 2016 .
