Albania does not have any firefighting aircraft, although at least two were promised.

In a country where fires have destroyed hundreds of thousands of hectares of land in the last decade, political promises to reinforce the air fleet with firefighting aircraft are not rhetorical, but vital matters. However, the promise made by Prime Minister Edi Rama during the 2025 electoral campaign, that Albania would have two firefighting aircraft ready for the summer season, has not been kept.

"Our air fleet will have at its disposal starting this summer, agreements have been made, two firefighting aircraft on standby for us without waiting for them to come from one country or another," the prime minister said during the electoral campaign on March 29, 2025.

Summer came, the fires started, but Albania still doesn't have a single firefighting aircraft.

A request for information that Faktoje addressed to the Ministry of Defense officially confirms that, contrary to what was promised, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Albania do not have any firefighting aircraft. In the official response, the ministry simply announces:

"We inform you that the Armed Forces of the Republic of Albania (AFAR) currently do not have firefighting aircraft."

And in fact, for the active fires in the country, firefighting aircraft came from European Union countries as part of the EU Solidarity program.

In recent days, fires have engulfed various areas of Albania such as Delvina, Bulqiza, Borshi, Lukova, Kanina, Berat and Pusteci. The National Civil Protection Agency announced on July 28 that “during the last 24 hours, 34 fires have been identified, of which 17 are still active, 6 are under monitoring and 11 have been extinguished.”

The lack of firefighting aircraft has also been denounced by the head of the Institute for Municipalities of Albania, Agron Haxhimali, according to whom Albania is the only country in the region that does not have any aircraft or helicopters dedicated to extinguishing fires from the air.

Recycled promise for firefighting aircraft
The promise for firefighting aircraft is not new for the socialist government. It is a recycling of previous statements.

In January 2023, the then Minister of Defense, Niko Peleshi, publicly announced that Albania was preparing documentation for the purchase of two multifunctional aircraft, suitable for firefighting and agricultural support.

"There are some more modest means in cost, more maneuverable and more suitable for our fire situations," said Minister Peleshi at the time.

The questions that arise from this discrepancy between political statements and reality are several. How much has the failure to equip the country with firefighting aircraft in time cost? How much land could have been saved? How many lives and resources have been put at risk due to the lack of air logistics?

In the absence of transparency, the public is unable to judge whether the delays are due to financial, bureaucratic reasons or simply a lack of political will. No information on tenders, contracts or procurement phases has been made public to date.

Based on the data, the promise made during the election campaign to place two firefighting aircraft at the disposal of the Albanian air fleet is considered unfulfilled. Faktoje.al