Italy and Libya resume direct air service after a decade

The governments of Italy and Libya revealed today that their respective capitals, Rome and Tripoli, will soon have a reinstated direct commercial air route, following a ten-year hiatus.

This announcement comes amidst the ongoing diplomatic discussions spearheaded by the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.

The official statement reported the ITA Roma-Tripoli direct flight reopening, marking the end of a decade-long interruption.

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibé flew this route upon returning from a summit in Rome with Mediterranean basin countries.

The Italian Agency for Civil Aviation (Enac) disclosed that the direct commercial route will begin operations in October and will be managed by ITA Airways.

This Italian airline emerged after the dissolution of Alitalia.

ITA Airways, currently owned by the Italian government, is in advanced negotiations to sell a 40% stake to Lufthansa, a German airline.

The official statement described this as another tangible sign of the direction that the Italian government intends to take in its relationships with Libya and other Mediterranean states.

Italy hosted a meeting on Sunday focusing on development and migration projects that included heads of state from Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Mauritania, Libya, Cyprus, and prime ministers from Libya, Ethiopia, Egypt, Malta, Jordan, Nigeria, Algeria, and Lebanon.

Following the meeting, Meloni announced that the United Arab Emirates will commit 100 million euros to development initiatives, with further details yet to be disclosed.

The Italian government, via its credit agency, has guaranteed to support projects amounting to over 25,000 million euros in the region.

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