Adria Airways (Ljubljana) and several other carriers have expressed an interest in starting flights to the northeastern Albanian town of Kukes.
According to EX-YU Aviation News, the announcement comes after the Albanian government outlined plans to lift a moratorium on flights to anywhere other than Tirana. By decentralizing services away from the capital, government is hoping to stimulate tourism in Albania's more remote, poorer areas while at the same time driving down the cost of air travel.
The Albanian Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has confirmed that aside from the Slovenian carrier, Ryanair (FR, Dublin International) and Wizz Air (W6, Budapest) have also expressed an interest in serving Kukes.
Once operational, the airfield there hopes to handle 150,000 passengers/annum during its first year with growth anticipated at 10% year/year through to 2025.
