Dbeibeh: Italy to lift air embargo on Libya

Libyan Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh (R) welcomes Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni (L) with an official welcoming ceremony in Tripoli, Libya on January 28, 2023. [Hazem Turkia – Anadolu Agency]

Italy will lift its air embargo on Libya in September, the head of the Tripoli-based government Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh said yesterday, Anadolu news agency reported.

“The Italian government informed us of its decision to lift its air embargo that was imposed on Libya ten years ago,” Dbeibeh said in a statement.

“Flights will resume next September,” he added.

There was no comment from the Italian authorities on Dbeibeh’s statements.

Last month, Dbeibeh held talks in Rome with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on lifting Rome’s air embargo on the country’s civil aviation.

The European Commission banned flights from Libya in 2014 amid chaos and conflict in the country.

Since then, successive Libyan governments have attempted to lift the European embargo, but the bloc has reiterated concerns about passenger safety.

Oil-rich Libya has remained in turmoil since 2011, when longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed after four decades in power.

READ: Artist Alessandra Ferrini explores the complex relationship between Libya and Italy

Unless otherwise stated in the article above, this work by Middle East Monitor is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. If the image(s) bear our credit, this license also applies to them. What does that mean? For other permissions, please contact us.