The Association of Italian Returnees from Libya (AIRL) applauded the efforts of the Italian Embassy in Tripoli to resuming direct flights between Italy and Libya, which the association says would have a “strategic and symbolic value”, Italian news agency Nova reports.
Speaking to Nova, Francesca Prina Ricotti, the president of AIRL, said the recent visit of security experts of the National Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) to Tripoli’s Mitiga Airport was made in order to verify the compliance of the airport with the European requirements that must be met to ensure the resumption of air traffic.
The mission is part of the coordination between the Libyan and Italian parties aimed at allowing Libyan companies to fly over Italian airspace.
The Italian specialists have specifically evaluated the “technical aspects and safety procedures” in the management of air traffic and within the passenger hall and other facilities of the airport.
The Mitiga Airport is currently the only one active in the Libyan capital. However, Nova reports, citing unnamed Libyan sources, that Libyan authorities would like to use the international airport south of Tripoli, which is being reconstructed by the Italian consortium Aeneas, for most of the international traffic.