Flying for Kosovo

PILOT TO FLY THROUGHOUT ALL CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA IN SUPPORT OF KOSOVO’S INDEPENDENCE

James Berisha behind the controls of a Learjet which he flies for Sierra West Airlines

El Paso, Texas, USA, 02/19/2009 – An El Paso resident and native Kosovo pilot is planning to fly throughout all of Central and South America in order to encourage recognition of Kosovo’s newfound independence from Serbia in a trip planned for late March.
James Berisha, 37, of Pristina, Kosovo, (www.flyingforkosovo.com) is planning to depart in his single engine plane from El Paso, TX in late March to more than 30 countries to rally support for newly independent Kosovo which officially became an independent country in February of 2008. Berisha, now an accomplished airline pilot, has made similar flights after graduating Flight Safety Academy in Vero Beach, Florida.

To gain flight hours, Berisha made a more than seventy hour flight from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Skopje, Macedonia. This time he is not in need of flight hours, instead he is funding his journey out of pocket so that he may talk to the people of South America and encourage them to recognize Kosovo’s declaration of independence.

“I will thank those countries who have already recognized us, I will tell the others how important it is for Kosovo to be recognized worldwide, and I will try to end racial stereotypes that belittle our people,” said Berisha about his upcoming journey.

Kosovo has been recognized by 55 out of the 192 UN member states as of the date of this publication.

Mr. Berisha and former president Bill Clinton.

CONTACT:
James Berisha
Flying for Kosovo
+19154400187
james.berisha@flyingforkosovo.com
www.flyingforkosovo.com

Taken from a news article at BalkanInsight.com

James Berisha behind the controls of a Learjet

A Kosovo-born pilot will next month start a fly-in campaign across the Americas to persuade governments to recognise Kosovo, which this week celebrated one year since its declaration of independence from Serbia

Texas resident James Berisha, 37, will begin his Flying For Kosovo (www.flyingforkosovo.com ) campaign in March and has planned to fly his single engine plane to more than 30 countries in South and Central America, a region which has mostly ignored the Kosovo issue.

“I will thank those countries who have already recognized us, I will tell the others how important it is for Kosovo to be recognized worldwide, and I will try to end racial stereotypes that belittle our people”, Berisha told Balkan Insight.

Berisha spent his childhood in Kosovo, then left for Western Europe to fulfil his dream of becoming a pilot. He is now working for Sierra West Airlines, which operates executive jet charters and air cargo flights.

Since its declaration of independence, Kosovo has been recognized by 55 mostly Western states.

(Reported by Shega A’Mula)

During his flight career, James has had some great adventures in small planes. A few years ago he completed a journey from Alaska, USA, to Skopje Macedonia. This is the route he took:

City/State, Country, ICAO Airport code:

1. Fairbanks Alaska, USA, PAFA
2. Old Crow, Canada, CYOC
3. Inuvik, Canada, CYEV
4. Paulatuk, Canada, CYPC
5. Holmen, Canada, CYHI
6. Cambridge Bay, Canada, CYCB
7. Pelly Bay, Canada, CYBB
8. Hall Beach, Canada, CYYX
9. Broughton Island, Canada, CYVM (Qikiqtarjuaq Airport)
10. Sandrestorm Fjord, Greenland, BGSF
11. Kulusuk, Greenland, BGKK
12. Reykjavik, Iceland, BIRK
13. Hofn, Iceland, BIHN
14. Wick, Scotland, EGPC
15. Newcastle, England, EGNT
16. Southend, England, EGMC
17. Lugano, Switzerland, LSZA
18. Zadar, Croatia, LDZD
19. Tirana, Albania, LATI
20. Skopje, Macedonia, LWSK

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Today, February 17th, 2009, FlyingforKosovo.com is officially active. Please take the time to read the articles from time to time and comment on them. We are currently in the planning stages of our grand journey, but we will update the site often to keep you informed about our progress, as well as news from Kosovo.

What FlyingforKosovo.com is about:

An El Paso resident and native Kosovo pilot is planning to fly throughout all of Central and South America, in order to raise support and encourage recognition of the country’s newfound independence from Serbia in a trip planned for early March.
James Berisha, 37, of Pristina, Kosovo, is planning to depart in his single engine plane from El Paso, TX in early March to more than 30 countries to rally support for newly independent Kosovo, which officially became an independent country in February of 2008.

From Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty
SLLOVI, Kosovo (RFE/RL) — With his newborn state on the eve of its first anniversary, Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci made a symbolic trip to the tiny village of Sllovi, not far from the capital, Pristina.

Read the full article HERE

James Berisha on the front page of The Diario, a regional newspaper that circulates through Northern Mexico and West Texas, on the 8th of February, 2009. In it, James talks about being a pilot that has flown throughout Mexico for over ten years and he discusses Kosovo’s declaration of independence. If you understand Spanish, you can read the entire article HERE