The Serbian-language media outlet "Alo.rs" published an article today (January 10) claiming that Kosovo will experience an exodus in 2024, with the mass departure of the population beginning on January 1.
This media outlet bases its claims on statements by Kosovo analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu and figures provided by the spokesperson for the "Adem Jashari" airport, Valentina Gara.
After verifying the facts, it was found that the claim by the Serbian media outlet is untrue.
Link to the article published on "Alo.rs":
Parts of the article published on "Alo.rs":
The fake state of Kosovo with Albin Kurti at the helm will experience a complete exodus this year because hundreds of thousands of citizens will leave it!
The mass exodus of the population from the so-called Kosovo has already begun since January 1 of this year, when visa liberalization began to be applied. Since then, over 83,000 people have flown to Western countries from Pristina airport, which is named after terrorist Adem Jashari.
This article also made the front page of the Serbian newspaper today (January 10). (here)
The Serbian daily makes the claim in question based on a statement by Nexhmedin Spahiu given to the Serbian news agency "Beta" who says that most Kosovo citizens will try to find work in the West, but also that many will leave for fear of war.
"Almost every family from Kosovo has at least one member living and working in the West. In Kosovo, wages are very low and unemployment is high, so many young people see their future in the developed countries of Western Europe. I expect that in just one year, about half a million Kosovars will go to the West.". (here)
Despite Spahiu claiming that there will be large departures, he does not provide credible sources for this, it is not based on any concrete data, but simply remains his opinion.
The Serbian media outlet claims that the mass exodus of the population from Kosovo has already begun, based on the statement of the airport spokesperson, Valentina Gara, who, according to this media outlet, announced that around 83 thousand people have flown from Pristina airport, where a total of 620 flights were carried out over 7 days.
In fact, the Competition dated January 8th said that in just one week, over 83 thousand trips were made, including round-trip and diaspora trips.
So, it's not about 83 thousand people who flew from Pristina Airport.
"Around 83,141 people have traveled, including return trips, and these figures also include diaspora trips." (here)
Regarding flights, she added that over 600 flights were operated in seven days, including departures and arrivals.
"There are 620 flights in total, including 309 arrivals and 311 departures." (here)
As an additional fact, Gara announced in a Facebook post dated December 28 that "in December, from December 1 to December 27, 221,309 passengers traveled through ANP 'Adem Jashari' (of which 133,910 were inbound)". (here)
Furthermore, during January of last year (2023), based on statistics from the Civil Aviation Authority of Kosovo (ANP), around 236 thousand passengers traveled to and from Pristina International Airport, “Adem Jashari”. (here)
Based on the statistics provided by Gara, it turns out that the claim of the Serbian media does not hold true. So, among the approximately 83 thousand passengers, there are round-trip flights and diaspora travelers. Also, regarding the number of 620 flights, 309 were arrivals and 311 were departures.
Analyze:
Serbian-language media outlet "Alo.rs" falsely claims that Kosovo will experience an exodus in 2024, where, according to them, the mass departure of the population began on January 1.
The Serbian media outlet bases this claim on the opinion of analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu and travel figures at Pristina airport.
Based on the data provided by the airport spokesperson, it appears that the number of trips includes both round-trip and diaspora. Based on the statistics, it appears that there was also a large number of flights during December (2023). Even during January of last year (2023), the number of flights was similar to December.
Based on its work methodology, hibrid.info considers this claim made by the Serbian media outlet "Alo.rs" to be disinformation.
Rating:
A “Disinformation” rating is given to media reporting that contains a “mix” of inaccurate sources or even half-truthful content. This rating will also address reports that have incorrect attributions or headlines that do not reflect the text in terms of information accuracy.