NATO funding allows Albania to officially re-open Kuçova Airbase
Peter Felstead
Albania officially re-opened Kuçova Airbase on 4 March 2024 after transforming the decades-old base into a modern hub for NATO future air operations.
Located around 80 km south of Tirana, Kuçova airbase will serve Albania and support Alliance logistics, air operations, training and exercises. Around EUR 50 million in NATO funding was used to upgrade the base, which first opened in 1955 when the People’s Socialist Republic of Albania was an ally of the Soviet Union.
“The airbase will serve as an important NATO air hub,” Acting NATO Spokesperson Dylan White was stated as saying in a NATO press release. “The makeover of Kuçova Airbase is a strategic investment and shows that NATO continues to strengthen its presence in the Western Balkans: an area of strategic importance to the Alliance.”
The formal opening of Kuçova Airbase on 4 March was attended by Albanian President Bajram Begaj, Prime Minister Edi Rama, President of the Assembly Lindita Nikolla, Defence Minister Niko Peleshi and Chief of Defence Major General Arben Kingji. Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, Turkish Military Representative to NATO Lieutenant General Göksel Kahya and other high-ranking officials also spoke at the ceremony. From NATO the commander of the Combined Air Operations Centre Torrejón, Lieutenant General Juan Pablo Sanchez De Lara, and the general manager of the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), Stacy Cummings, were also in attendance. After the speeches aircraft from NATO nations performed a flight display.
Renovating Kuçova Airbase has been NATO’s biggest project in Albania over the last decade. The work began with a ground-breaking ceremony in 2019 and includes upgrades and renovations to the control tower, runways, hangars and storage facilities. The works were funded by NATO’s Security Investment Programme (NSIP), which covers major defence construction projects in allied countries.
A NATO member since 2009, Albania no longer has any fixed-wing aviation assets in its air force. The country’s national airspace is secured by the combat aircraft of NATO allies Greece and Italy.
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