The Libyan Minister of Transportation in the Government of National Unity (GNU), Muhammad Salem Al-Shahoubi, gave permission for airlines to resume operating domestic flights between Tobruk Airport and Al Bayda’s Al Abraq Airport in the east of the country.
On Monday, in a letter addressed to the General Director of the Libyan Airlines Company and the Director General of the Afriqiyah Airways Company, Al-Shahoubi said that swift measures needed to be taken to resume domestic flights in Libya and to submit schedules of regular flights to the Civil Aviation Authority.
The Director General of Tobruk International Airport, Saad Al-Kahashi, confirmed that the airport is ready to resume domestic flights according to the available capabilities. He pointed out that the capacity of Tobruk Airport is similar to that of other airports across the country.
Al-Kahashi explained that the airport runs flights to and from oil fields, as well as as servicing MPs and government officials. He specified that on the day the GNU took the oath of office, the airport was able to receive eight flights in less than two hours. He noted that many committees came to the airport to assess the situation.
Al-Kahashi indicated that El-Buraq Air plans to operate domestic and foreign flights to and from Tobruk airport next June. He added that a committee sent by Afriqiyah Airways will arrive next Sunday to monitor the situation at the airport.
The Director General of Tobruk Airport welcomed the decision to resume running domestic flights to ease the burden on citizens, who so far have had to resort to traveling by land despite dilapidated and deteriorating roads that cause many accidents.
Al-Kahashi said that businessmen volunteered in the past to maintain the runway and supply some needs to overcome difficulties, especially during the period of political division that Libya has been going through.