Albania Plans 5.16 Billion Lek for Its National Flight School

Albania plans to spend about 5.16 billion lek, or roughly €57 million, on its national flight school through 2029. The figure comes from the 2027 draft budget, as reported by Gazeta Tema on Oct. 30. Clash Report could not see the underlying budget tables.

What the Budget Shows

Gazeta Tema reports 4.81 billion lek for building the school and 350 million lek for hangars to house its aircraft. Together, the two projects are due to cost 1.11 billion lek in 2027 alone. That is about €12 million, or roughly 1.4% of the 76.7 billion lek planned for the Defense Ministry next year.

Finance Minister Petrit Malaj presented the draft budget on Oct. 29. It puts defense spending at 2.35% of GDP. Parliament began its review the same day, while the opposition Democratic Party boycotted it, the state news agency ATA reports.

The budget also lands after weeks of student protests in Tirana over education, jobs and corruption.

A School That Is Open but Still Being Built

The Defense Ministry says the National Flight School opened on July 3 at the Air Force Command in Rinas, near Tirana. Prime Minister Edi Rama and Defense Minister Ermal Nufi attended. The first 25 candidates started the pilot and air traffic controller program.

Two Bell 505 training helicopters have joined the Air Force fleet, the ministry says. The Air Force is due to receive five trained pilots a year for each of the next five years.

Gazeta Tema and a 2025 ministry announcement place the school in Vlora, at the city's airport. Public statements do not say when the school will move there. Ekofin separately reports 4.53 billion lek for an Air Force base tied to the Vlora Airport concession. It is unclear whether the two items overlap.

The original Vlora aviation school was founded in 1962 and closed in 2007, local media report.

Elbit's Role and the Shifting Targets

The school is a partnership between KAYO and Elbit Systems, signed in Vlora in April 2025. Elbit says it supplies the helicopters, one simulator and the flight instructors. It calls the Albanian program a new, fully integrated model.

Earlier plans aimed for 30 pilots and 50 military air traffic controllers by 2030. In March, local media reported that 40 applicants would be tested and 10 chosen for an 18-month pilot course. The July launch counted 25 first candidates across both tracks.

Elbit faces scrutiny elsewhere. NATO's procurement agency suspended it from new tenders in July 2025 over a bribery probe, which Elbit denies. Albania's agreement is with KAYO, not that agency.

What Officials Say

The ministry said in 2025 that the academy would cut costs, give independent certification and raise national capacity. Nufi calls the school "a new strategic capacity for national defense and security."

Rama says it will also take cadets from Kosovo, North Macedonia and Montenegro. He describes Elbit as one of the global leaders of the military industry.