At a glance
- The Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy announced in early August that it was terminating the airport concession early.
- The ministry said the airport did not start operating by its target date of 20 February 2026, or within a 90-day extension to 20 May.
- MABCO Constructions, which owns 98% of the concession company, called the termination unfounded and asked for negotiations.
- No commercial flights have operated from Vlora in 2026, and no new opening date has been announced.
Albania's government has begun cancelling the concession for Vlora International Airport, the new airport built to serve the southern Riviera, after it failed to open on schedule. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy announced the early termination in early August. Albanian Daily News dates the announcement to 3 August, while Reporter.al, BIRN's Albanian service, places it two days later.
According to the ministry, the airport did not begin operating by its Targeted Operation Date of 20 February 2026, nor within the 90-day period that followed, which ended on 20 May. The ministry also cited unfinished works, lapsed contract insurance, unpaid penalties, a conflict between the concession company's partners and a loan agreement with Delphos Securities.
Concessionaire disputes the decision
MABCO Constructions, which owns 98% of the concession company, wrote to the ministry on 10 August calling the termination unfounded and asking for good-faith negotiations within 15 working days, by 31 August at the latest. We have not found any report of how that request was resolved.
Under the contract signed in April 2021, the state guaranteed the concessionaire €138 million in revenue over the first ten years, Reporter.al reported. Separately, Albania's Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK) has extended its investigation into alleged favouritism in the 2021 tender by three months, to 23 November 2026, according to Bulevard.
In April, Albanian Daily News reported that the opening had been postponed because the airport lacked certification, and that at least three weekly charter flights from the Nordic countries planned for summer 2026 had been cancelled.
What this means for visitors
For now, travellers heading to Vlora, Himara, Saranda or Ksamil still need to fly into Tirana and continue by road, or fly to Corfu and take the ferry to Saranda. With the concession in dispute and no new opening date, it would be unwise to plan a 2027 trip around flights to Vlora until an airline actually puts them on sale.
Sources
- Albanian Daily News: VIA concession: MABCO seeks negotiations, 2026-08-13
- Vox News: Government: we are terminating the Vlora airport contract, 2026-08-19
- Reporter.al (BIRN Albania): The foretold failure of Vlora airport risks hundreds of millions of euros in arbitration (Albanian), 2026-08-07
- Bulevard: Vlora airport concession: SPAK extends investigation by 3 months (Albanian), 2026-10-04
- Albanian Daily News: Opening of VIA postponed, charters cancelled, 2026-04-11