Fraud/ “Air Kosova” and a flying illusion of propaganda and hidden interests

Beyond the national flags and slogans, lies a network of economic interests linked to the Kastrati Group, a concession without competition, and an airline that does not really exist.

During the ceremony for the launch of flights at Vlora International Airport, Prime Minister Edi Rama declared that a new airline company named “Air Kosova” will begin operations at Kukës Airport. He stated that a new Albanian company has been registered, which will have its base in Kukës and will offer flights to citizens from Kosovo in a special way.

At first glance, “Air Kosova” looks like a new airline, created to strengthen Albania-Kosovo ties and revitalize Kukes Airport. But the facts show that it is simply a product within the group that operates the airport itself, with no new investors and no real connection to Kosovo.

But behind the patriotic scene and the deep emotional symbolism, a much colder reality hides. The company is neither Kosovar nor an airline in the legal and economic sense of the word. In fact, it is a direct extension of the Kukes Airport concessionaire itself, a concession granted without real competition and with ties to the Kastrati Group.

Kukës Airport, originally built as a gift from the United Arab Emirates to Kosovo after the 1999 war, came back into the spotlight in 2018 when the Albanian government accepted an unsolicited proposal for a concession from a consortium of companies linked to the Kastrati Group and other technical partners. The government gave the bidder an 8% bonus, as is customary in such tenders, but when the competition opened, the proposing group did not participate at all. Instead, only two companies competed: Bami shpk and Global Technical Mechanics, which emerged as winners due to lack of competition.

Inauguration of the Kukes airport

In a long speech, in front of employees of the state administration and the airline owned by Behgjet Pacolli, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced the imminent launch of flights at Kukes Airport.

"Now you Kosovars will be particularly affected. A new Albanian company will be launched soon to no longer stop flights at Kukes Airport."

"Air Kosova will be the next Albanian company," said Rama.

According to the Prime Minister, work is underway to secure the aircraft and make pre-operational preparations, but he did not give an exact date for the launch of the flights.

"When I say these dates, they bring me the evil eye," Rama added, announcing that this company was registered in January 2025 and will have Kukes Airport as its operational base.

"The work has been underway for a long time and in January a new Albanian company was officially registered. Now you Kosovars will be affected in a special way. A new Albanian company that will launch soon to no longer stop flights at Kukës Airport. "Air Kosova" will be the other Albanian company and these two aircraft will be the aircraft of our common pride. Air Albania that will have its own base and Air Kosova that will have its own base in Kukës," said Rama.

The documents show that the company is part of the same network of interests that controls Kukes Airport, with deep ties to the powerful hydrocarbon business in Albania, specifically the Kastrati Group.

The key figure associated with both the concession and Air Kosova is Ridgers Mema.

Although he appears to the public as a young entrepreneur, it turns out that he previously had shares in other companies linked to the Kastrati Group, including Al Global Oil, which bought the bitumen plant in Fier, and AK Trade International Oil, where Shefqet Kastrati himself appeared on the board, along with former MP Alket Hyseni.

"Air Kosova" was registered in early 2025 with administrator Ridgers Mema, who is also the director of Kukes Airport.

The sole shareholder is the company Global Technical Mechanics, owned by Mema and the same company that won the airport concession. There is no Kosovar owner, nor any strategic foreign investor. It has no fleet of its own, no operating license as a separate airline, it is simply a name stamped on an aircraft.

The administrator of "Air Kosova" is Ridgers Mema, the same person who manages the airport's concession company, "Kukës International Airport".

The company was established for the implementation of the concession contract for the “Reconstruction, Operation and Transfer of Kukes Airport”, with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy as the contracting authority. The objective is the management of the airport and any ancillary activities related to it.

Kukes Airport was inaugurated with a grand ceremony in April 2021, on the eve of the parliamentary elections, and officially opened for flights on July 9 of that year. It was promoted by Prime Minister Edi Rama as a development hub that would bring jobs, tourism, and business to the northeast of the country.

In the months of July-September 2021, two airlines operated at this airport, "Helvetic Airways" and "Air Albania", with flights from Zurich and Istanbul, respectively.

However, after the end of the tourist season, air activity in Kukës dropped significantly. By mid-September, only one flight per week remained, and on October 21, 2021, the last flight was recorded.

In 2018, the Albanian government opened the procedure for the concession of the Kukes Airport. Initially, an unsolicited proposal from the Kastrati Group & TMD Systems was accepted by the Council of Ministers, who were also given an 8% bid bonus. However, surprisingly, this group did not participate in the final tender at all.

The only bidders were two companies with no experience in aviation: Bami shpk, construction, and Global Technical Mechanics, a newly established company, without any concrete activity.

Both companies won automatically, without real competition. / Lindita Çela / Shteg.org