Tripoli, Libya–Libya and Italy have signed an agreement to enhance cooperation to enable air transport companies to operate charter and regular flights between the two countries.
In this regard, the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority and the Italian civil aviation authority signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) at the Ministry of Transportation in Tripoli for cooperation in the field of civil aviation between the two countries.
The MoU was signed by the head of the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority, Mohamed Shalebek, and the head of the Italian Civil Aviation Authority, Pierluigi De Palma, Libyan News Agency reported.
According to the Ministry of Transportation of the Government of National Unity, the MoU aims to develop cooperation in the field of civil aviation and air transport and to facilitate and encourage air transport companies between the two countries to operate charter and regular flights.
The two sides also agreed to sign a new air transport agreement between the two countries at a later time.
A few days back, a Rome-bound aircraft departed on Saturday from Libya’s capital, restarting flights to Italy after a nearly decade-long suspension due to an EU ban, authorities in Tripoli said.
The European Union in 2014 halted flights operated by Libyan airlines and banned them from entering member states’ airspace, as the war-torn North African country was mired in intense fighting.
Saturday’s flight took off from Tripoli’s Mitiga airport. It was operated by Libya-based Medsky Airways, which offers a twice-weekly direct connection to the Italian capital.
Restarting flights is “part of intensive government efforts to lift the European ban on Libyan civil aviation”, said Libya’s UN-recognized government on Facebook.
Medsky Airways was launched in 2022, the year after EU member Malta announced it would allow flights to and from Libya.
It was unclear how the airline was able to circumvent the EU ban, which remains in place.
The European ban was imposed after a coalition of mostly Islamist militias called “Fajr Libya” seized Tripoli following weeks of fighting that caused massive damage to the city’s international airport.