Transport in Kosovo consists oftransport byland andair. After theKosovo's independence, improvements to the road infrastructure, urban transport, rail transport and air travel have all led to a vast improvement in transportation. These upgrades have played a key role in supporting Kosovo'seconomy.
Air transport in Kosovo started as early as 1936 when Yugoslav flag carrierAeroput opened scheduled flights fromBelgrade toSkopje throughPodujevë airfield as mid stop.[1]
There are three Airports situated in Kosovo, theGjakova Airport in the city ofGjakova,Dumosh-Batllava Airfield inPodujevë and the only international Airport ofPristina in the capital of Kosovo,Pristina. Gjakova's Airport was built by theKosovo Force (KFOR) following the Kosovo War, next to an existing airfield used for agricultural purposes, and was used mainly for military and humanitarian flights. The local and national government plans to offer Gjakova Airport for operation under a public-private partnership with the aim of turning it into a civilian and commercial airport.[2]
Pristina International Airport is located southwest ofPristina. It is Kosovo's only international airport, the only port of entry for air travelers to Kosovo. Handling over 2.99 million (2021 2.86 million) passengers per year on 22,000 flights.[3]
The first railway line was built underTurkish guidance for theCompagnie des Chemins de Fer Orientaux (CO), led byMaurice de Hirsch. It started inThessaloniki, went on north toSkopje and reachedMitrovica in 1873. Before theFirst World War it was used by theSerbian Railways which operated asYugoslav Railways between 1918 and 1992, and stopped their operations in Kosovo after the NATO intervention in 1999.Trainkos operates 430 km (267 mi) of railway in Kosovo, of which 333 km (207 mi) serve both freight and passenger and 97 km (60 mi) only serve freight traffic. The non-electrified network originally consisted of two lines crossing atKosovo Polje railway station inKosovo Polje: A main line going fromKraljevo in westernSerbia viaMitrovica andKosovo Polje to Skopje inNorth Macedonia, and a branch line in east-west direction fromNiš in southern Serbia viaPristina railway station in the capitalPristina and Kosovo Polje with one branch leading toPeja and the other one toPrizren. Of these lines, the one fromPristina to Peja and the one from Kosovo Polje to Macedonia are still served by passenger trains. Some more parts of the network are occasionally served by freight trains, like Kosovo Polje -Obiliq; the other parts of the network are currently unused.
For years, there have been plans to extend the branch toPrizren across the border toAlbania, to create a link to the network of theHekurudha Shqiptare, with approval given by the Albanian government in 2021 to a feasibility study of a Prishtina-Durrës route to be undertaken in 2022.[4]
Around EUR 200 million has been spent between 2019 and 2023 improving the main rail connections with much of the funding coming from theEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), theEuropean Investment Bank (EIB) and grants from the European Union (EU) to bring standards up to the EU'sTrans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) quality level.[5]
Theroad transport inKosovo has significantly improved following theindependence of Kosovo. Thegovernment of Kosovo in recent years has focused the majority of investments on the construction of numerousmotorways specifically on constructing theR6,R7 andR7.1 which connect Kosovo with its neighboring countries.[6][7]
In recent years, two major road construction spree took place on the main state roads of Kosovo, involving the construction of new roadways, putting of contemporary signs, planting of trees, and related greening projects. Works on two highways are completed.
In 2021 there was an average of 181 cars per 1,000 people in Kosovo compared with 567 in the EU.[8]
| Motorway | District | Length | Description | Cities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Ferizaj,Pristina | 60 km (37 mi) | The R 6 (Albanian:Autostrada R 6,Serbian:Autoput R 6) is a fourtraffic lane motorway, spanning 60 km (37 mi).[9] The majority of the motorway is completed but still under construction. It connect the city ofPristina with the city ofSkopje inNorth Macedonia at the border inHani i Elezit.[10] | Ferizaj,Kosovo Polje,Lipjan,Pristina |
 | Pristina,Prizren | 129.8 km (80.7 mi) | The R 7 (Albanian:Autostrada R 7,Serbian:Autoput R 9) is a fourtraffic lane motorway, spanning 129.8 km (80.7 mi). The majority of the motorway is completed but still under construction. It connect the city ofPristina with the city ofDurrës inAlbania at the border inVërmica.[11] | Pristina,Prizren,Suva Reka |
 | Gjilan,Pristina | 47.1 km (29.3 mi) | The R 7.1 (Albanian:Autostrada R 7.1,Serbian:Autoput R 7.1) is a fourtraffic lane motorway, spanning 47.1 km (29.3 mi). The motorway is currently under construction and still under planning process and will connect the east with the west from Kosovo through the cities ofGjilan,Pristina andKamenica. | Gjilan,Kamenica,Lipjan,Pristina, |
However, due to the commitment of MI, and related structures, we have achieved significant results. Proof of this are the construction of new highways, linking the Republic of Kosovo with neighbouring countries
On the other hand, the Government successfully organized and handled the State Visit of Zoran Zaev, Prime Minister of Macedonia, in which a number of mutually important questions were discussed, such as bilateral trade and the new highway between Prishtina and Skopje.
