The Country

Geography:
The Republic of Albania is one of the smallest countries on the Balkan Peninsula. It is situated in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula on the south east coast of the Adriatic Sea, opposite the 'heel' of Italy. It borders Montenegro to the north, Serbia to the north-east, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south. The country is very mountainous, with some peaks reaching over 8000 feet (2,500 metres) high, bordered by a narrow coastal plain containing about half the population. Much of the land is covered by scrub forest, broken-up by a number of rivers running east-west. It occupies a land area of 28,749 km2 (11,100 sq. miles) and has a population of 3,249,000 inhabitants (1997 estimate). Its population comprises 95% Albanians, 3% Greeks and 2% others. 70% of the population are Moslem, 20% Christian Orthodox and 10% Roman Catholic. The capital city is Tiranė.

National History:
Summary Narrative History

Timeline - Key Dates in Albanian History

Further National Information:
BBC News Profile: Albania
Yahoo Albania page
wikipedia: Albania
wikipedia: History of Albania

Civil Aircraft Registrations:
Albania was originally allocated the registration sequence B-Axxx in 1924, but it is not believed to have been used.
After 1945 the registration prefix 'ZA-' was allocated, but under the new communist regime civil aviation was strictly prohibited. There was no national airline and so all flying was done by the air force. Civil registered aircraft did not appear in Albania until the 1990s and the fall of the communist government. An example is Bell 222 ZA-HOV.

No on-line civil aircraft register listing is known.

Military Air Arms:
Air Force (Albanian Air Force)

Central Government Agencies:
To be added

Public Service Aviation:
Medical Aviation (Ministry of Health Aviation Unit)

Commercial Aviation:
(No civil aviation permitted until after 1990).
Ada Air Albanian Airlines
BelleAir

wikipedia: Airlines of Albania
The World's Airlines: Albania

Private Aviation:
To be added.

Aircraft Manufacturers:
None at present

Airports, Airfields and Air Bases:
Civil Airports and Airfields-
Rinas-Tiranė Airport
Airports in Albania
Military Air Bases and Airfields-
Military Air Bases Listing

Aviation Museums:
The National Armoury Museum at Gjirokastra has a USAF Lockheed T-33A which became lost over the Adriatic in the 1950s and was forced to land in Albania.

Airshow Dates:
Key Airshow Dates

Aviation-Related Magazines:
'Ushtria' (The Army) is published by the Minstry of Defence for the Albanian armed forces.

Magazine Dealers:
Recommended second hand magazine dealers

Aviation Bibliography:
Albania Aviation Bibliography - to be added

Aviation Bookshops:
On-line bookshops

Web Links:
Complete Civil Rotorcraft Register of Albania