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Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa (TIA): flight delays and compensation

Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa. Not an EU airport: flights to Tirana from the EU and flights operated by EU airlines are covered by EU 261/2004. Here is what to expect if your flight was delayed or cancelled here, or you were stranded.

By the EU261 Flight Delay editorial team Last reviewed: Reading time: 6 min How we write our guides

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In short: Flights departing from Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa are covered by EU261 only with an EU airline; flights from an EU airport to Tirana are always covered, and flights from the UK by UK261. Departures: covered only on EU (or UK) airlines flying to the EU (or UK).

Live at Tirana (TIA) today

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About the airport

Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa (TIA) serves Tirana, Albania. On the routes Eurostat reports, 8,545,720 passengers flew to or from it in 2024, the 58th-highest among the 397 European airports we cover. Its busiest connections were to Milan, Bologna, Venice, Pisa.

This airport is outside the EU and the UK: departing flights are covered by EU261 only if an EU airline operates them to the EU (or UK261 if a UK or EU airline flies them to the UK). Flights arriving here from the EU or the UK are covered with any airline.

Busiest routes from Tirana – and what a delay is worth

The 30 busiest routes on Eurostat’s 2024 data, with the compensation for a 3-hour-plus delay or a late cancellation in each direction.

DestinationPassengers 2024DistanceFrom TIAReturn
Milan BGY697,715934 km€250*€250
Bologna BLQ475,845768 km€250*€250
Venice TSF433,144767 km€250*€250
Pisa PSA426,181804 km€250*€250
Rome FCO408,863622 km€250*€250
Vienna VIE394,142785 km€250*€250
Milan MXP372,9341,001 km€250*€250
Bari BRI345,942249 km€250*€250
Brussels CRL319,4331,545 km€400*€400
Athens ATH311,036529 km€250*€250
Catania CTA248,975593 km€250*€250
Paris BVA241,1181,633 km€400*€400
Frankfurt FRA202,0951,289 km€250*€250
Rome CIA196,966594 km€250*€250
Istanbul IST193,059752 km––
Istanbul SAW192,021804 km––
Verona VRN182,492839 km€250*€250
Barcelona BCN160,0671,470 km€250*€250
Turin TRN158,1141,062 km€250*€250
Warsaw WAW155,0291,199 km€250*€250
Dortmund DTM139,5461,453 km€250*€250
Eindhoven EIN132,5451,561 km€400*€400
Memmingen FMM126,6291,045 km€250*€250
Berlin BER115,8721,305 km€250*€250
Hamburg HAM112,7841,539 km€400*€400
Budapest BUD111,796670 km€250*€250
Genoa GOA107,822946 km€250*€250
Bucharest OTP105,049626 km€250*€250
Antalya AYT104,6681,078 km––
Kraków KRK102,399963 km€250*€250

* only with an EU (or UK) airline. Passengers: Eurostat, both directions, routes reported by EU/EEA airports.

Air traffic flow delays at Tirana (Nënë Tereza) (2025)

EUROCONTROL records the delay imposed on arriving flights when the airport or the airspace around it cannot take more traffic (air traffic flow management, “ATFM”). In 2025, 35,033 flights arrived at TIA; 64 of them were held back this way, 33 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.04 minutes per arrival.

What caused the ATFM delay

  • aerodrome capacity100%

Average ATFM delay per arrival by month (min)

  1. J
  2. F
  3. M
  4. A
  5. M
  6. J
  7. J
  8. A
  9. S
  10. O
  11. N
  12. D

Worst days: 16 May 2025 – 1,309 minutes, mostly aerodrome capacity.

2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 32,175 arrivals, 0.01 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025), mainly equipment (ATC) (100%).

Check what happened at TIA on your travel day →

What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (0% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (0%) or airport limits – causes airlines often cite as extraordinary circumstances. They are only part of the story: most long delays come from the airline’s own operation (technical faults, crew, late inbound aircraft), which this data does not show. Source: EUROCONTROL.

Typical delay causes at Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa

  • EUROCONTROL recorded 35,033 arrivals at TIA in 2025; 64 were held by air traffic flow restrictions, 33 of them by more than 15 minutes.
  • The largest single cause of this flow delay was aerodrome capacity (100%).
  • The worst day was 16 May 2025, with 1,309 minutes of flow delay, mostly aerodrome capacity.
  • Most long delays that earn compensation are not flow delays but airline problems – technical faults, crew shortages and late inbound aircraft – which do not count as extraordinary circumstances.

Airlines you are likely to fly with here

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    What happened?Step 1 of 4

    What happened to your flight?
    Where did you fly from and to?

    With a connection, enter your first departure and your final destination – compensation is based on the total distance.

    How late did you arrive at your final destination?

    What counts is when the aircraft doors opened at your destination – not the departure delay.

    When were you told about the cancellation?
    When did you arrive on the replacement flight?
    Which airline operated the flight?
    When was the flight?

    How many passengers were on the booking?

    1 passenger

    Every passenger gets their own compensation, children too. Infants under 2 without their own seat do not count.

    • Free, no sign-up
    • Fee only if successful (35%)
    • AirHelp: Trustpilot 4.5/5

    Rather skip the questions? Start a claim with AirHelp straight away

    Local information

    • Ask the airline staff at the gate for the reason for the delay or cancellation and write it down; take a photo of the departure board.
    • From 2 hours’ delay (depending on distance) the airline must give you meals and drinks, and a hotel if you are stuck overnight – keep the receipts if you had to pay yourself.
    • If the airline rejects your claim, complain to the national enforcement body of the country where the flight departed (or arrived, for flights from outside the EU), or go to court.

    Frequently asked questions

    Can I claim compensation for a flight departing from Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa?

    Only if the flight is operated by an EU airline. With a non-EU airline, EU261 does not apply to departures from Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa, but local rules and the Montreal Convention may give you a claim for proven losses.

    Can I claim compensation for a flight arriving at Tirana International Airport Mother Teresa?

    If the flight departed from an EU airport (for example Frankfurt, Madrid or Budapest): yes, under EU261, whatever the airline. If it departed from the UK: yes, under UK261.

    How is the length of the delay measured?

    By your arrival time at your final destination – more precisely, the moment the aircraft door opens at the gate. It must be at least 3 hours after the scheduled arrival time.

    Related guides

    Information only, not legal advice. Passenger figures are approximate and based on the airports' published statistics; punctuality figures are from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. We earn a commission when a claim submitted through our partner links is successful.

    Sources

    1. Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
    2. EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL

    We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.