Albtransport
| Company type | State-owned enterprise |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aviation |
| Founded | 25 January 1957 |
| Defunct | 1991 |
| Headquarters | Tirana , Albania |
| Products | Airline services, civil aviation management, air traffic control, airport management |
Albtransport served as Albania's state-owned national airline from 1957 until 1991. It operated a limited number of civil flights, primarily utilizing the Ilyushin Il-14 aircraft sourced from the Albanian Air Force. The organization was chiefly responsible for overseeing the country's civil aviation activities, including air traffic management and the administration of Tirana Airport.
History
Established on 25 January 1957, coinciding with the opening of Tirana Airport, Albtransport acquired its inaugural commercial aircraft, an Ilyushin Il-14, which was predominantly reserved for governmental use. Before this period, Albania did not possess any civil aircraft and failed to comply with international aviation operation standards, only becoming a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 1989. Scheduled flights to Tirana were mainly operated by foreign carriers such as Aeroflot, Jat, and Malév, while Albtransport maintained a minimal presence in commercial airline services. During the early 1960s, Albtransport briefly offered a Berlin-Schönefeld route in collaboration with Interflug by utilizing spare capacity on Interflug’s planes. Government aircraft were occasionally deployed for special flights to destinations including Bucharest, Moscow, Prague, and Sofia.
In 1971, the Albanian Air Force expanded its fleet by acquiring three additional second-hand Ilyushin Il-14s—one obtained under license from East Germany and another from Czechoslovakia—and engaged Albtransport to provide sporadic domestic passenger and freight services. In 1991, Albtransport briefly operated a Bell 222UT helicopter designated for government functions. Although airline operations were discontinued by late 1991, Albtransport continued to exist as an entity. In early 1992, it formed Albanian Airlines through a partnership with Austrian Tyrolean Airways. After Albania’s transition to democracy, Albtransport retained responsibility for civil air traffic control until the conclusion of 1992 and managed Tirana Airport operations until 2004.