A Rome-bound aircraft departed on Saturday from Libya's capital, restarting flights to Italy after a nearly decade-long suspension due to an EU ban, authorities in Tripoli said. Restarting flights is "part of intensive government efforts to lift the European ban on Libyan civil aviation", said Libya's UN-recognised government on Facebook. Medsky Airways was launched in 2022, the year after EU member Malta announced it would allow flights to and from Libya. It was unclear how the airline was able to circumvent the EU ban, which remains in place. Italy, Libya's former colonial power, and the Mediterranean island nation of Malta are now the only European countries to have resumed flights with Libya.

Source: Libya Today September 30, 2023 14:57 UTC