Ismaili, Migjeni, Naimi, the planes that once carried the Albanian flag stamped on their bodies, have disappeared without a trace. Those that the government once sold as the pride of the Albanian skies, are now nowhere to be seen. The reason is that the companies that had leased them to Air Albania have withdrawn the planes due to non-payment of rent.
As a result, Air Albania now has an aircraft without an Albanian logo or symbol. The only aircraft of the flag carrier that is seen in circulation bears the logo of Dana Air, the company that leased it to Air Albania.
And this is now the essence of Air Albania's business model. Planes are leased, fly a few routes, and then disappear again because they are withdrawn by the leasing companies, after not being paid. Air Albania's planes come and go so often that the company no longer even has time to stamp its logo and the symbols of Albania on them.
Two weeks ago, Kapitali published the news that Albania's flag carrier has been sued in a British court by the American company Gat Aircraft and Engine Leasing Limited for breach of lease contracts for two A320-200 aircraft.
Gat Aircraft and Engine Leasing Limited, a subsidiary of GA Telesis, filed the lawsuit on August 1 in a British court alleging that the Albanian national carrier stopped paying leases for two aircraft, namely aircraft ZA-ASM (msn 3676) and ZA-MMK (msn 4934), in March 2025. GA Telesis also claims that the airline breached other obligations to third parties, including Eurocontrol. This prompted the lessor to terminate the lease contracts.
The American company said it made an official request to Turkish Airlines, as guarantor under the Air Albania lease agreement, for payment of unpaid rents on July 14, which the Turkish company refused to comply with.
Editorial
