Libya says international aviation restrictions lifted after 11 years

Libya’s Ministry of Transport said on Monday that airspace restrictions issued by the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organisation in 2015 during the country’s civil war have been removed. The ministry said the decision, which was formally issued on October 23, was announced by ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar at the opening of a meeting of civil aviation officials from the Middle East in Doha. “This measure comes as a result of the notable progress made and the confidence placed in the capabilities of the Libyan civil aviation sector in recent times,” the Tripoli-based Ministry of Transport said in a statement on its verified Facebook page. Libya slid into chaos after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in a Nato-backed uprising in 2011. Three years later, a civil war broke out between armed factions vying for power and divided the country between eastern and western administrations. The war caused damage to up to 20 aircraft, including Airbus models, at Tripoli International Airport in 2014. There are currently few airlines operating flights in and out of Libya, and they have long been limited to destinations such as Tunisia, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Sudan. The ICAO’s decision would be circulated to all 193 member states for their implementation, the ministry added.