Air transport slows in the second quarter

2025-07-31 08:02:00, Sociale CNA

The movement of Albanian and foreign citizens by air has slowed significantly in the second quarter of this year, according to data published by INSTAT.

In the second quarter of 2025, 3,052,511 passengers traveled by airline, up from 2,879,158 passengers who traveled in the same period last year, increasing by 6.0%.

This growth is much slower compared to the same period a year ago, when INSTAT reported that in the second quarter of 2024, 2,879,158 passengers traveled by airline, up from 1,747,887 passengers who traveled in the same period last year, increasing by 64.7%.

According to INSTAT, 29 airlines operated in air transport during the second quarter of 2025, of which 28 were foreign and 1 was Albanian. 110,073 aircraft flew in Albanian airspace, of which 83.2% were overflights.

The volume of goods (including mail) entering and leaving via air transport amounted to 798.6 tons, of which 67.5% are incoming goods and 32.5% are outgoing goods. Compared to the second quarter of 2024, the volume of goods increased by 42.4%.

The volume of goods traded (export and import) by air in the second quarter of 2025 is 583 tons.

Compared to the same period in 2024, this indicator has increased by 2.3%. The volume of goods imported by air in the second quarter of 2025 accounts for 0.02% of the total volume of imported goods.

10% increase in passengers at ports

Unlike air travel, port travel has improved. The number of passengers traveling through seaports in the country is 330,630, an increase of 10.9% on an annual basis.

According to INSTAT, the Port of Saranda is the port from which 54.0% of passengers traveled, followed by the Port of Durrës with 40.3% and then the Port of Vlora with 5.7%. Unlike air, transport by sea has accelerated, while in the same period a year ago the growth had been 6.1%.

There are four seaports operating in Albania that serve for the transport of goods: the Port of Durrës, Vlorës, Shëngjin and the Port of Limjon (Saranda). The Port of Durrës is the main port in the country from which, during the second quarter of 2025, 93.6% of the volume of goods transported by sea, or 2,063 thousand tons of goods, were transported.

The total volume of goods transported from the port of Durres has increased by 1.4%, compared to the same period a year ago.

The number of ships entering and leaving ports in the country is 276 ships, of which 253 are foreign and 23 are domestic. The number of ships entering and leaving ports has increased by 10.0%, where the number of foreign ships has increased by 16.1%, compared to the second quarter of 2024.

The seaports where passenger transport is carried out in the country are: Port of Durres, Vlora, Saranda and Port of Shëngjin. Passenger movement in the second quarter of 2025 was carried out by the port of Durres, Vlora and the port of Saranda./ Monitor