You want to get your trip to Albania off to a good start, right? This list of common Albanian vocabulary for the airport could be perfect for you. We have basic as well as more advanced words such as gate- hyrje and emergency exit- dalje në rast rreziku.
While you might think that you can easily travel around the country since many of the locals can speak English, trust us when we say that you'll earn a special place in the hearts of the locals if they hear you trying to speak their language. In fact, they might even treat you even better! So what are you waiting for? Let's learn the basics in the section below.
Panning to travel for the first time to Albania?
There's a huge chance that you'll probably be flying into Tirana. The biggest and probably best airport is Nene Tereza (named in honor of national icon Mother Teresa). The airport is situated in the Northwest of Tirana in Durres county. Its busiest routes are to Milan, Rome, and Istanbul (not surprising given the geographical and historical connections between Albania and those countries). It is the 7th busiest airport in the Balkans.
Communism was a poisoned chalice for many of the countries that adopted it. Being closely aligned with the Soviets meant a gradual erosion of living standards, but there were also ambitious large-scale infrastructure projects.
Albania is slightly different because they were so isolationist, and that means that even with their ideological allies, they weren't always so open to travel. In the 1940s, there were only three services to Belgrade, Hungary, and Moscow. By the 1970s, that service had been updated to include China and more communist capitals.
When communism collapsed in 1991, there was an explosion in Albanian air travel. By 1999 there were 350,000 passengers (up from 50,000 in communism), and by 2009 that number was a 1.5million and concurrently 2 million in 2016.
Of course, the gradual improvement of the economy because of capitalist reforms meant that more Albanian people were able to travel. With higher living standards comes a more international mindset.
There is a motorway connecting Tirana with the airport. The good news is that taxi prices in Albania are very low. You can also get the airport bus which leaves outside the arrivals terminal from 7 am to 11 pm hourly. It takes about 30 minutes to get to the city center.
There has been some controversy surrounding Albania's national airline. Until 2011 it was Albanian Airlines. However, their license was canceled by the government. In 2018, in partnership with the Turkish government(Turkish airlines), Air Albania was launched. It currently flies to 10 locations in Europe, and its future is looking promising even with the after-effects of the pandemic.
Note: The country's flagship airline is Air Albania. The other two smaller ones are called Albawings and Wizz air.
Let me take a few minutes now to explain why Ling is the best option for you to learn Albanian.
So come on, book your international flights, get your flight number, check-in at your local airport, and have an unforgettable travel experience to Albania. We know that it's possible to go to a place and use Google translate or a translations book, but forget the web. On your next visit to Tirana, the locals will love you if you can speak Albanian fluently and naturally.