The Director of Ghat Airport in Libya, Abu Bakr Hussein said that the airport is “technically ready to operate flights, and the Libyan Airlines company has started operating one flight per week.”
In press statements, he added that the “rest of the air transport companies have standards that do not comply with the airport’s readiness. We sent a report to the Airports Authority, and they promised us to provide all the requirements of the transport companies very soon.”
“The maintenance of the airport control tower has been completed. Next Thursday, a committee sent by the Airports Authority will arrive to receive the tower initially, and the authority will undertake the installation of the equipment in the tower, after which work will begin officially,” Hussein added.
Last month, Ryanair’s Chief Executive, Michael O’Leary said that Europe’s largest airline by passenger numbers is in talks with authorities in Libya and Egypt, about operating flights to the countries for the first time.
Ryanair’s only flights outside of Europe currently are to and from Morocco, Israel, and Jordan.
Its Hungary-based rival Wizz, which flies to Egypt and Morocco, has also been expanding aggressively into the Middle East, flying 36 routes from Abu Dhabi on its Wizz Air Abu Dhabi joint venture.
“We’re talking to the Libyans and the Egyptians,” O’Leary told a Eurocontrol event, without giving any more details.
Notably, the tumultuous political history of Libya has virtually removed it from the tourism map for many years. In 2011, the Libyan Revolution saw civil war breaking out in the country, leading to the deaths of 30,000 people. Although the war was over relatively quickly, the country was torn apart, with numerous rival militias maintaining a landscape of conflict for many years to come.
The second civil war in 2014 saw all foreign airlines stopping service to the country. A skeletal aviation industry was maintained by the likes of Libyan Airlines and Afriqiyah, but Tripoli International Airport was destroyed in the fighting. Since 2014, Mitiga International Airport has been functioning as the hub for the capital, although it too has been the subject of violent attacks.
