Italy has announced its decision to lift the air embargo on Libyan civil aviation that has been in place for nearly ten years, according to Abdelhamid Dbeibah, the head of the Libyan government based in Tripoli and recognised by the United Nations.
In a recent tweet, Dbeibah stated, “The Italian government has informed us of its decision to lift the air embargo imposed on Libyan civil aviation for ten years.”
The Italian embassy in Tripoli confirmed discussions on the resumption of direct flights between the two countries during a visit by Pierluigi Di Palma, the head of the Italian Civil Aviation Authority, on Sunday. However, no further details were provided. Dbeibah added that connections between Tripoli and Rome are expected to resume in September.
It should be noted that Libyan airlines have been blacklisted since 2014, preventing them from flying over European Union airspace. Dbeibah did not clarify whether the removal of Libyan carriers from this list would precede the planned resumption of air links with Italy.
During his official visit to Rome on June 7, Dbeibah emphasized the importance of reopening the airspace and lifting the European air embargo, which has affected Libyan civil aviation since 2014.
Once flights resume in September, Italy will become the second European country, after Malta, to establish a direct air link with Libya.
Libya has been striving to recover from more than a decade of turmoil since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011. Two rival governments have been vying for power: one based in Tripoli, led by Dbeibah, and the other in the East, supported by the influential Marshal Khalifa Haftar.
In 2014, a coalition of militias, including Islamists, known as “Fajr Libya,” took control of the capital after weeks of intense fighting and the near-complete destruction of Tripoli’s international airport. Since then, European countries have severed their connections with Libya, prohibited Libyan planes from landing, and closed their airspace to Libyan companies due to security concerns.
Despite attempts by successive Libyan governments over the past decade, the lifting of this ban has remained elusive.
