Italy Lifts 10-Year Air Embargo on Libya

Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity in Libya, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, announced the lifting of the air embargo imposed on Libyan civilian aviation over Italian airspace after being in place for approximately 10 years.

Dbeibah stated in a tweet on Twitter today, Sunday, that the Italian government "has decided to lift its air embargo to resume direct flights between Libya and Italy in September of this year."

Dbeibah commended the efforts of the transportation sector and the Libyan-Italian committee formed for this purpose, praising the efforts of all those who contributed to achieving this breakthrough in facilitating visa issuance and air navigation between the two countries.

Earlier, Dbeibah formed a committee to communicate with Italy to lift the Italian embargo on Libyan civilian aviation, in light of the improved relations between the two countries, especially after signing a contract worth eight billion dollars with "ENI" in January of last year for investment in two offshore gas fields.

Since the outbreak of the civil war in Libya in 2014 between the Dignity and Dawn movements, the European Union has imposed a ban on Libyan aircraft, prohibiting them from passing through European airspace, as well as leaving all non-local airlines. Some airlines have started to resume operations in the past two years, such as Tunisair and EgyptAir.