The World's Airlines, past, present & future                 by David Lyall

Albania is a republic in south-eastern Europe that is officially known as the Republic of Albania. Lying along the north-western edge of the Balkan Peninsula, it is bordered by the Adriatic Sea to the west, Greece to the south, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) to the east, and Serbia & Montenegro to the north. Separated from Italy by only 76 km (47 mi) of the Adriatic, Albania, throughout its history, has been occupied by Italian powers expanding eastward into the Balkans or by Balkan powers expanding westward. In the 1500s Albania came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire (centred in what is now Turkey), and did not gain its independence until 1912. From 1944 to 1990, it was a staunchly Communist state, and in 1991 Albania began its transition to a democratic state and market economy. The capital and largest city is Tirana.