According to air transport statistics published by the National Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) on Thursday, a total of 2,162,098 passengers flew between January and March 2026, compared with 2,083,050 in the same period a year earlier. This represents an increase of 3.8% year-on-year.

During the period, 21 foreign airlines operated in Albania’s air transport market, while 74,329 aircraft movements were recorded in the country’s airspace.

Of the total aircraft movements, 82.6% were overflights. In the first quarter, there were 12,898 flights and 61,431 overflights recorded.

Air cargo and mail traffic also rose over the period. Total cargo volume reached 571 tonnes, of which 74.2% consisted of inbound shipments and 25.8% outbound.

Air freight volumes increased by 3.8% compared with the same period of 2025, reflecting an expansion in trade and logistics activity.

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According to latest edition of the WB’s Tourism Watch, for the first time since the pandemic, the sector is expected to exceed 2019 arrivals in 2024.

The report notes that resilient growth caps a strong year for tourism recovery.

WB underlines that the region of Europe and Central Asia, Albania is listed as the destination with the highest growth rate in estimated aviation passenger arrivals, with a 63% growth rate.

In its global overview, WB said that in the first quarter of 2024, tourism arrivals grew 20 percent compared to 2023, boosted by improvements in air connectivity, visa facilitation, and decreasing airfares as well as a continuing post-pandemic recovery.

Tourism contributed an estimated 3 percent to global GDP in 2023, reaching pre-pandemic levels for the first time. Travel prospects remain promising, with a full recovery expected this year despite macroeconomic, geopolitical, and climate-related headwinds.

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The number of passengers flying to and from Albania rose 44.8 % year-on-year to 614.340 people in July, data from the National Institute of Statistics, INSTAT, showed.

INSTAT recently released the Transport Data report, according to which the air passenger numbers accounted for 73.6 % of the total of all transport systems in July.

According to INSTAT, the number of flights also increased by 33.2 % in July compared to the same period of the previous year.

INSTAT data show that a total of 2.712.918 passengers travelled with the airlines operating in Tirana airport during the first seven months of 2022.

Some 21.104 flights from and to Albania took place during the reviewed period, up 80.7 % compared to the same period of the previous year.

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