NATO: Lower airspace over Kosovo open to civilian flights

A press release said that the “important achievement in the normalization of the lower airspace over Kosovo, has been carried out with support through NATO’s Balkans Aviation Normalization process”. “It will help to significantly improve the civil air traffic routing to and from Pristina airport, with multiple benefits including faster travel, lower fuel consumption and reduced pollution,” it said.

The press release said that NATO has been supporting the process of normalizing the use of the airspace over Kosovo since 1999, by leading the Balkans Aviation Normalizations Meetings which are regularly attended by representatives of Allied countries, air navigation authorities, national military authorities and relevant international organizations, including the International Civil Aviation Organization, the European Aviation Safety Agency, and EUROCONTROL amongst others.

It recalled that the upper airspace over Kosovo was reopened in 2014 thanks to Hungary’s Air Navigation Service Provider (HUNGAROCONTROL), which took responsibility for flights above 21,000 feet. “NATO has through the Balkans Aviation Normalization Meetings facilitated the formalization of a Framework Agreement between KFOR and Iceland. Iceland ’s Transport Safety Agency (ICETRA) is now acting as a Safety Oversight Function in support to the KFOR Commander, who retains primary authority for the use of the airspace over Kosovo,” it said and added that technical agreements have been signed between the Albanian Air Navigation Service Provider (Albcontrol) and the Air Navigation Service Provider in Pristina (ASHNA), establishing new direct routes to Pristina through Albania.