Pristina Airport eyes long haul flights
Pristina Airport is aiming for the resumption of long haul services once it completes the ongoing extension of its runway. New York was its busiest unserved route in 2019 for a fifth consecutive year. The airport’s runway is currently being extended from 2.500 metres to 3.000 metres, while its Instrument Landing System (ILS) will be upgraded from category II to category IIIb, enabling aircraft to land in more adverse weather conditions. “We are using every opportunity to expand our route network or even double or triple services to existing destinations. Surely, with the runway extension, we will have heavier aircraft landing at Pristina Airport. Each airport would like to have long haul flights”. the airport’s Public Relations Manager, Valentina Gara, told Jusht Kushtrim Isa.
In 2019, over 13.000 passengers travelling from Pristina transferred through other points to reach New York. Some 10.000 travellers had JFK Airport as their final destination, while over 3.500 travellers were destined for Newark Liberty. Other popular destinations in North America included Chicago, Toronto and Washington. “Our diaspora is not only based in Europe but also in the United States, Australia and other countries. By having this runway extension and upgrade of the ILS system, we believe that we will possibly have long haul flights as well. We used to have flights to JFK Airport years ago”, Ms Gara noted.
Scanderbeg Air, a short-lived tour operator that contracted with Sky King Airlines, maintained two weekly flights between Pristina and New York with a Boeing 767-200ER aircraft from June to September in 2009. Ever since, there have been no flights between the two cities. Pristina Airport's General Manager, Haldun Firat Kokturk, previously said the US city continues to be a target destination. Better connectivity with major European hubs could also provide more accessible fares from Pristina to the United States. British Airways is set to launch seasonal flights from London Heathrow from July 4, albeit only once per week. “British Airways will start flights on a two-month trial basis during the summer season to Pristina Airport. We believe that they will continue after these two months as well”, Ms Gara concluded.
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