The United States has announced an additional contribution of $4.5 million dollars for strengthening Libya’s civil aviation sector, and airport security.
This announcement came during a meeting between US Special Envoy Ambassador Richard Norland and Libyan Deputy Minister of Transport for Air Transport Affairs, Khaled Al-Swessi.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for North Africa Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Joshua Harris and US Chargé d’Affaires, Jeremy Berndt also participated in the meeting.
Norland affirmed the United States’ commitment to assisting Libya in building a secure and efficient civil aviation sector, connecting the country to the rest of the world.
Harris stated that this new funding will support efforts to promote stability in southern Libya, foster more economic opportunities, and enable Sebha Airport to expand operations as an aviation hub.
“Under this framework, the United States is providing an additional $4.5 million for Sebha Airport through the US Department of State Bureau of Counterterrorism’s Libya Aviation and Airport Security Program,” the US Embassy said in a statement.
“Since 2018, the US has allocated over $20 million to Libyan aviation security. Nearly 3,000 Libyan airport officials have attended US, sponsored trainings, including nearly 300 women,” it added.
Earlier this month, the Director of the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority, Mohamed Ashleibek anticipated the lifting of the European aviation ban on Libya in April 2024.
According to Ashleibek, international audits of civil aviation in Libya have yielded mostly positive results. He told Al-Wasat newspaper that Libya will be ready to welcome European flights in April, coinciding with the reopening of Tripoli International Airport.
The Libyan official mentioned the readiness of several Arab and foreign airlines to resume direct flights to Libyan airports. Negotiations are underway with Turkish and Qatari airlines to resume their routes.
In September 2023, flights between Libya and Italy resumed after a nearly ten-year hiatus, despite the European ban on Libyan airlines, as announced by authorities in Tripoli. Italy is the second European country, after Malta, to have a direct air route with Libya, despite Libyan airlines being blacklisted since 2014 from flying over European Union airspace.
Foreign airlines have gradually returned to Libya. Tunisair became the first airline to fly to Libya in May 2021, followed by EgyptAir and a few other carriers. Although most of the air operations are still managed by Libyans, five private airlines have started operations for various domestic and international routes.
On 11 December 2014, the European Commission banned Libyan airlines from passing over EU member states’ airspace, due to safety control concerns in a country experiencing periodic security tensions.