Two years without a balance, why was the license of 'Air Albania' suspended

Air Albania has been suspended by the Albanian authorities after its business license was revoked, ceasing all its operations on September 9, 2022. For this reason, the airline grounded all its aircraft.

Brief history of Air Albania

Air Albania is the largest Albanian airline in the country. It was founded in 2018 when it started operating at Tirana International Airport 'Mother Teresa'. The airline operated air services to ten destinations across Europe for its customers. Air Albania is operated by a consortium between Albania and the Turkish government. The airline is managed through a private-public partnership where Turkish Airlines controls 49.12%, and the remaining 50.88% is publicly traded. Air Albania was granted a Third Country Operator (TCO) by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to operate flights between Albania and the European Union.

Air Albania is suspended: What happened?

Albania had adapted its business laws to curb money laundering so that the beneficiaries of every enterprise or company were registered with the relevant agencies. Air Albania was accused of not disclosing its shareholders as required by law in the country.

However, this was not the case with the airline as it failed to comply with the law. Accordingly, Air Albania ceased business operations after the Albanian authorities suspended the airline on September 1. Additionally, the suspension will be lifted if the airline pays a fine.

law

Albanian authorities had instructed companies under the law on the register of beneficial owners to declare and provide information to owners by June 30, 2021. If this is not done, the law says it would impose a fine of 5,000 euros. However, this directive was extended until June 30, 2022, giving the airline more time to comply.

Separation of ownership of Air Albania

Air Albania is jointly owned by Turkish Airlines and the Albanian government. The government owns the airline through Albcontrol sha managed by the Ministry of Finance and Economy. Furthermore, it controls Albania's airspace according to regulations from international air navigation standards.

Një kompani private me emrin MDN investim u regjistrua më 7 maj 2018, nëntë ditë para se të bëhej aksionere e linjës ajrore me dekret të qeverisë shqiptare. Sinan Idrizi është pronar i kompanisë, dhe kapitali fillestar për kompaninë ishte 100,000 euro.

Sfidat e përballura

Sinan Idrizi u përball me disa akuza në një gjykatë turke, duke pretenduar se ai ishte i përfshirë në nxjerrjen e 3.5 milionë dollarëve në lidhje me marrëveshjen e linjës ajrore. Megjithatë, ai u shpall i pafajshëm në fund të atij viti.

Air Albania u përball me disa pengesa kur mori autorizimin e saj EASA, duke i dhënë asaj dritën jeshile për të fluturuar në Bashkimin Evropian. Për këtë arsye, linja ajrore zgjodhi të marrë me qira avionë nga Turkish Airlines në mënyrë që ata të mund të kryenin fluturime brenda BE-së nën licencën e Turkish Airlines. Air Albania mori më në fund miratimin e saj në maj 2020.

Linja ajrore kishte disa çështje të fundit kur një hetim zbuloi së fundmi se Air Albania paraqiti bilancin e saj të vitit 2018 që nuk tregonte asnjë aktivitet biznesi. Gjithashtu nuk janë dorëzuar bilancet përkatësisht për vitin 2019 dhe 2020. Përveç kësaj, kjo është një shkelje e ligjit shqiptar pasi afati i paraqitjes tashmë ka kaluar. Për më tepër, kjo ishte një arsye që autoritetet shqiptare pezulluan licencën e operimit të linjës ajrore.

Currently, the airline has no flights as all activities have stopped. Let's wait and see what happens with the airline in the coming days. Will a lawsuit follow? Will the airline comply with the law? When will they return to work? How long will the suspension last?