Libyan Airlines (LN, Tripoli Mitiga) and sister carrier Afriqiyah Airways (8U, Tripoli Mitiga) will operate charter flights to help transport over 6'000 Libyan nationals left stranded by the closure of Tripoli International airport.
Pan African newswire, Panapress, says the airlines will offer repatriation flights to nationals currently stuck in Cairo International and Alexandria Borg el Arab in Egypt, Amman Queen Alia, Istanbul Atatürk, Paris CDG, Dubai International, London Gatwick and Manchester International, Sfax, Berlin Tegel, and Jeddah International.
Fighting at Tripoli Airport has intensified over the past few days with Libyan Airlines and Afriqiyah A330-200s, among them 5A-LAS (cn 1424), along with nine other aircraft, having been hit by gun and rocket fire. The air traffic control tower has also been hit rendering it unserviceable.
The airport and its surrounding environs have been under the control of Zintani militia since the overthrow of Muammur Gaddhafi's regime in 2011. Over the past week, rival Islamist factions have attempted to dislodge them without success.
The Libyan government has attempted to divert the few remaining scheduled flights into the country to the nearby Misurata airport.
