Libya’s Ministry of Transport has announced the “lifting of restrictions and precautionary warnings on the use of Libyan airspace” issued by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 2015 during the country’s civil war.
The ministry said the decision was officially issued on October 23 and was announced by ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar during the opening of a meeting of civil aviation directors general from the Middle East region in Doha.
The Tripoli-based ministry said in a statement posted on its verified Facebook page that the measure followed “significant progress and growing confidence in the capabilities of Libyan civil aviation” in recent years.
In a separate statement, the ministry said Libya had received applications for permits to transit its airspace, describing the response as “unprecedented interest from international airlines.”
The ministry said the total number of registered permits for the 2026-2027 winter season had risen to 61,968 flights per month starting in November, a major increase from an average of 2,000 transit flights per month during the 2025-2026 season.
It added that the increase “is expected to provide significant financial revenues to the state treasury, while at the same time requiring continued improvements in operational readiness and efficiency to keep pace with the steady rise in air traffic.”
Libya descended into chaos after the ouster of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 following a NATO-backed uprising. Three years later, a civil war erupted between armed factions competing for power, leaving the country divided between two administrations, one in the east and another in the west.
The 2014 conflict damaged as many as 20 aircraft, including Airbus planes, at Tripoli International Airport.
Only a limited number of airlines currently operate flights to and from Libya, with destinations for a long period largely restricted to countries including Tunisia, Jordan, Türkiye, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Sudan.
The ministry said the ICAO decision will be circulated to all 193 member states for implementation.
Source: Reuters
