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Saturday, 04 July 2009



Direct Commercial Flights between Albania and Israel Commence



Balkan Travellers   

24 January 2008 | The first commercial flight from Albania to Israel, operated by Israir, is expected to land today.

The flight, which leaves from the airport in Tirana, the capital of Albania, will land at the Ben Gurion International Airport, Israel’s largest airport, located 15 kilometres southeast of the capital Tel Aviv. It will carry 175 passengers, mainly Albanian businessmen, international media reported.

A second flight between the two countries is expected to take place in March, while the airline hopes to establish a regular direct route beginning in May. The Israir Airline worked with the Isreali embassy in Albania and other sources in order to obtain the necessary security permits necessary, Shai Marine, the company’s commercial manager, told media.

Media reported that around 5,000 Albanian tourists are expected to visit Israel in 2008, while Albania has become a strategic tourist destination for Israel in the past year.

Israir Airlines is Israel’s second largest airline, said to have modelled itself on the American low-cost carrier JetBlue. It operates domestic flights, as well as international flights to New York City and European destinations.
 

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