Vlora International Airport

Location and planned purposeAnálise aprofundada

Vlora International Airport (Albanian: Aeroporti Ndërkombëtar i Vlorës; IATA: VLO; ICAO: LAVL) is sited near the villages of Akërni and Novoselë, approximately 10 km north of Vlorë in southern Albania. The airport occupies around 309 hectares of low-lying coastal land, partly on the footprint of a former military airstrip. The area borders the Narta Lagoon and falls within or adjacent to the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape.

The project is planned as Albania's third international airport, after Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza and Kukës International Airport Zayed, with the stated intention of improving international access to southern Albania, the Vlorë region and the Albanian Riviera. The runway is designed at 3,200 m long and 60 m wide, which would make it one of the longest in Albania and suitable for narrow-body aircraft and some wide-body operations, subject to certification and operational restrictions. The terminal building has been reported at approximately 22,000 m² with a projected annual capacity of up to two million passengers.

Earlier proposals and the 2021 concession awardAnálise aprofundada

Discussion of an international airport in the Vlorë area preceded the current concession by several years. In 2017 and 2018, the Albanian government pursued negotiations with a Turkish-backed consortium comprising Cengiz Holding, Kalyon Holding and Kolin Construction. The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) reported that Prime Minister Edi Rama had discussed the project directly with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and that the government drafted legislation to accelerate a long-term operating contract. The plan raised concerns in Brussels and was later abandoned without a detailed public explanation.

A new international tender was launched after the collapse of the earlier plan. In March 2020, that process was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the government stating it would wait for more favourable market conditions. A revised procedure followed in late 2020 and early 2021. In March 2021, the Albanian government announced that a consortium led by Mabco Constructions — part of the Mabetex Group — had won the tender, with partners YDA Group of Turkey and Kosovo-based 2A Group SH.P.K. The project was valued at approximately €103.9 million and structured as a 35-year concession. The concession contract was signed on 20 April 2021.

Construction was formally launched on 28 November 2021, Albania's Independence Day, in a ceremony attended by Rama. The airport was designed to include a passenger terminal, cargo and aircraft maintenance facilities, and related access roads. From the outset the concession included a revenue-guarantee mechanism, reported by Exit News as requiring the Albanian state to compensate the concessionaire if the airport failed to reach expected financial returns, with potential public payments of up to €138 million over the concession period. OCCRP also reported that government documents acknowledged the airport might not attract sufficient traffic to become profitable in the short term.

Construction progress, certification flight and commercial delaysAnálise aprofundada

Construction continued from 2021 through 2025. The first certification flight landed at the airport on 8 May 2025, in an event attended by Rama and Infrastructure and Energy Minister Belinda Balluku. Government officials presented the flight as a step toward the launch of commercial services during the 2025 tourist season; however, the airport did not enter regular scheduled operation that year.

In December 2025, SeeNews reported that Sunclass Airlines, operating through the tour operator Ving, had planned summer 2026 charter services from Scandinavian cities to Vlorë. Those plans were subsequently cancelled. Albanian Daily News reported in April 2026 that the airport would not begin flights during the summer 2026 season and that charter contracts had been cancelled. Aviation.Direct reported in July 2026 that Ving cancelled its planned charter programme because the airport still lacked the necessary international operating permits.

In May 2026, Infrastructure Minister Enea Karakaçi stated that construction works had been stalled by a shareholder dispute and court proceedings between Mabco Constructions and 2A Group. Karakaçi described the dispute as internal to the concessionaire but acknowledged it had affected the construction schedule. As of July 2026, Vlora International Airport had no regular scheduled commercial passenger services.

Concession controversies, tender allegations and the SPAK investigationAnálise aprofundada

The concession attracted scrutiny from investigative media and opposition politicians from the time of the award. OCCRP described the winning consortium as politically connected: Mabetex is controlled by Kosovar businessman and former Kosovo president Behgjet Pacolli, who has publicly maintained close relations with Rama, while YDA Group's chairman Hüseyin Arslan has had links to political figures in Turkey's ruling AKP. OCCRP further reported that YDA had built a hospital near Fier after Erdoğan ordered the company to complete it within three months, and that the airport tender was awarded after that hospital was inaugurated. Valon Lluka, a representative of the winning consortium, rejected OCCRP's findings as based on 'gossip and speculation', and Pacolli denied preferential treatment.

UK-based ALDE Corporation Limited, a rival bidder, filed a civil suit alleging that Albanian authorities had changed the tender criteria to favour the winning consortium, and also lodged a complaint with Albanian anti-corruption prosecutors accusing officials of document fabrication. According to OCCRP, a court in 2021 ordered the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy to provide tender documents requested through freedom-of-information procedures, but the ministry had not done so at the time of the report. The concession agreement was signed in April 2021, shortly before the 2021 Albanian parliamentary election; opposition representatives accused the government of using the signing as an election-period promotional event and of violating election laws.

In July 2025, the Special Structure against Corruption and Organized Crime (SPAK) confirmed it had registered criminal proceedings relating to the Vlora airport concession. In April 2026, Albanian Daily News reported that SPAK had filed charges over alleged irregularities against officials who had served on the bid-evaluation commission; BalkanWeb reported that SPAK suspected a violation of equality in tenders and a predetermined winner. As of July 2026, no final court judgment had established criminal liability in relation to the concession. The investigation developed in the same period as a separate SPAK case against Balluku: Reuters reported in February 2026 that Rama dismissed Balluku from the government after she was indicted in a corruption investigation involving public tenders worth more than €200 million; Balluku denied wrongdoing.

Shareholder dispute within the concessionaireAnálise aprofundada

The ownership structure of the concessionaire changed after the original award. YDA Group subsequently withdrew and sold its stake, leaving the project dominated by Mabco Constructions and 2A Group. By 2026, official shareholding was reported as 98% for Mabco Constructions and 2% for 2A Group, although 2A Group claimed that its investments entitled it to a substantially larger share, specifically 47% of the airport's shares.

Albanian Daily News reported in May 2026 that the conflict intensified after September 2025, when court decisions suspended Mabco's administrative-control rights. SeeNews reported that the dispute and related court proceedings stalled construction works in May 2026. Mabco and 2A Group publicly attributed delays and contractual breaches to each other. The Albanian government's stated position was that the dispute should be resolved through the courts.

Environmental conflict over the Vjosa-Narta wetlandAnálise aprofundada

The airport site lies within or adjacent to the Vjosa-Narta Protected Landscape, a coastal wetland system encompassing the Narta Lagoon, the Vjosa delta and habitats used by migratory birds on the Adriatic flyway. Environmental organisations have described the area as an Important Bird Area and a candidate for the Emerald Network under the Bern Convention. The Associated Press reported that the lagoons are used by millions of migratory birds and by up to 3,000 flamingos and pelicans annually.

Conservation organisations including the Protection and Preservation of Natural Environment in Albania (PPNEA), the Albanian Ornithological Society and EuroNatur have argued that the airport contradicts Albania's national protected-area legislation and international biodiversity obligations. In 2022, PPNEA and the Albanian Ornithological Society filed a lawsuit challenging the airport contract; an administrative court declared it inadmissible in January 2023 after a short non-public session, a decision criticised by environmentalists. Citizens.al reported in November 2025 that the Administrative Court of Appeal had returned the case for review. Activists also organised protests in Tirana in September 2023 against the project.

The European Commission's 2024 Albania Report stated that construction continued inside the Pishe Poro-Narta Protected Area despite a Bern Convention request to suspend works until a new and sufficient environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedure was conducted. The Commission's 2025 report repeated this concern, noting that the Standing Committee of the Bern Convention had requested suspension of works in both December 2023 and December 2024, and stated that the project conflicted with EU habitats and birds directives. In a March 2025 answer to a parliamentary question, the Commission said it had repeatedly raised concerns and that Albania, as an EU candidate country, must align with the EU environmental acquis. In 2025, Munich Airport International, which had been involved in an advisory role, ended its involvement in the project following criticism from environmental organisations and political debate in Germany.