The familiar ‘electoral flight’ scenario returned this election season with the arrival of the first test plane on the runway of Vlora’s international airport. However, the ‘fantastic alliance’ with Munich Airport, promoted enthusiastically from the start of construction, ended before the airport began operations. Today, Munich is no longer part of the project and, as confirmed by the airport itself to Faktoje.al, the contract will not be renewed.
Esmeralda Topi
One week before the 2021 parliamentary elections, an ‘Air Albania’ flight landed in Kukës to inaugurate the international airport ‘ZAYED – Wings of the North’. Four years later, a similar scenario was repeated in Vlora. The runway of the new international airport was inaugurated with the first certification flight just three days before the elections.
‘Vlora will be an international airport year-round, not just a tourist airport’, said Prime Minister Edi Rama.
Afrim Krasniqi, director of the Institute of Political Studies, sees the inauguration of Vlora Airport as another example of using public projects for electoral gain.
‘In Albania, a new airport is being built and naturally, the inauguration happens just before elections’, he says ironically, adding that although the airport itself might be positive news, the way it is being promoted turns it into a classic case of electoral speculation and misuse.
Vlora Airport is located in the village of Akërni, near the picturesque Narta lagoon. Construction began on November 28, 2021.
‘Today we are here with a fantastic alliance for the future of the airport, which is the alliance with Munich Airport, one of the largest air transport hubs not only in Europe but also worldwide’, Rama declared during the inauguration ceremony.
However, today Rama did not mention this alliance that he had praised so much just a few months ago.
Fact
Unlike what the Prime Minister claimed, the ‘fantastic’ alliance for the future of the airport with Munich Airport ended before this airport started operating. In a special statement to Faktoje.al, Munich International Airport emphasizes that there are no further negotiations regarding their role as advisors at Vlora Airport.
The two-year contract between Munich Airport International (MAI) – a subsidiary of Flughafen München GmbH – and Vlora Airport was fully completed at the end of April.
‘There are no plans for MAI or Flughafen München GmbH to operate Vlora Airport, and as previously mentioned, the current consultancy contract ends at the end of April 2025’, Robert Wilhelm, media relations coordinator at Flughafen München GmbH, told Faktoje.al.
‘MAI has not had any influence or decision-making authority concerning the planning and selection of the new airport’s location’, Wilhelm further clarified.
From the outset, local and international environmental organizations opposed the project. According to environmental activists, the airport threatens the survival of species in the protected landscape and the safety of potential flights. These warnings were ignored in Albania but not in Germany.
On October 23, 2024, a petition signed by about 500 Germans, activists, and environmental experts was submitted to the Munich Municipality, requesting the termination of Munich Airport’s cooperation in the construction of Vlora Airport in Albania. A few months later, Munich Airport withdrew from the project.
Munich as a ‘propaganda’ tool
Aleksandër Trajçe, executive director of the Center for the Conservation and Protection of the Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA), raises concerns that the alleged involvement of Munich Airport in the Vlora Airport project has been used from the outset as a propaganda instrument, aimed at creating the illusion of a strong international partnership and masking the lack of transparency as well as the real negative environmental impact.
‘Now that the contract with Munich has ended and is not being renewed, this ‘alliance’ is no longer mentioned by the government, clearly indicating that there was no sustainability or long-term intent behind this cooperation and that everything was fabricated to justify a completely non-transparent and environmentally destructive project’, he argues.
According to Trajçe, the airport project does not reflect a sustainable vision for the country’s development, but rather a destructive interference that threatens to eliminate one of the Mediterranean’s most important ecosystems – the Vjosa delta.
‘This is not an empty space waiting for concrete’ he points out, ‘but a natural treasure with exceptional value that must be protected for our common future’.
Conclusion
Prime Minister Edi Rama’s declaration of a ‘fantastic alliance for the future of Vlora Airport’ with Munich Airport turns out to be false. The cooperation with Munich Airport International was limited to a two-year consultancy agreement, without any decision-making power or operational role, and it concluded before the airport began its operations.
