Air Transportation

In 1977 Albania's government signed an agreement with Greece, opening the country's first air links with noncommunist Europe. By 1991 Tiranë had air links with many major European cities, including Paris, Rome, Zurich, Vienna, and Budapest. Tiranë was served by a small airport located twenty-eight kilometers from the capital at the village of Rinas. Albania had no regular domestic air service. A Franco-Albanian joint venture launched Albania's first private airline, Ada Air, in 1991. The company offered flights in a thirty-six-passenger airplane four days each week between Tiranë and Bari, Italy, and a charter service for domestic and international destinations.