Source: CIA World Factbook 2006

Airspace: 13,900 square miles

Recent Airspace Conflicts

During the Kosovo crisis, Albania handed over control of its airspace, ports and military infrastructure to NATO, in an attempt to speed up the delivery of aid to the hundreds of thousands of Kosovar refugees within the country.

In 1998 the Foreign Ministry in Albania issued a strongly worded protest to the Yugoslav authorities concerning three alleged violations of its airspace by Serbian helicopters near Tropoja and Kukes. They warned that such incidents carried the risk of escalating the conflict in Kosovo.

Airspace Regulatory Body

Directorate General of Civil Aviation: A subsidiary of The Ministry of Transport and Telecommunication.

Membership in International Aviation Organizations

European Common Aviation Area (ECAA): The ECAA is intended to create a seamless and efficient European air transport network, linking European people, countries and cultures, and play a vital role in the further integration and development of Europe as a whole. Bilateral negotiations on the ECAA began in 2005 between the European Union and the Albanian government. The ECAA will rest on two pillars: 1) Aligning aviation standards and regulations in Europe on safety, security, competition and social policy, and consumer rights; 2) Opening up market opportunities for the aviation industry.

Sources: BBC WORLD NEWS, Eurocontrol, Federal Aviation Administration, International Civil Aviation Organization