Libyan Airlines Resumes Flights to Egypt After 8-Year IntermittenceA passenger plane of the Libyan national airlines arrived in Cairo Saturday morning, the first to land in Egypt since 1992, when international air embargo was imposed on Tripoli.The arrival of the Libyan Arab Airlines (LAA) plane, carrying 11 passengers and a delegation grouping Libyan aviation officials, marked the resumption of regular flights between the two countries after the suspension of the United Nations sanctions last year. Mohammed Issa, an LAA top official, said upon arrival that LAA will make 12 return flights a week between the two countries, including seven linking Tripoli and Cairo. Two flights will link the Mediterranean cities of Benghazi in Libya and Alexandria in Egypt in addition to two weekly flights between Benghazi and Cairo and one between Cairo and Sabha, 600 kilometers south of Tripoli, Issa added. He said Libya would welcome on Monday the first EgyptAir flight in eight years after the Egyptian national carrier announced last week that it will also resume its connections with Libya. The international air embargo was suspended more than a year ago after Libya handed over two Libyans suspected of the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, which killed 270 people. Officials on both sides said the resumption of regular flights had been delayed due to technical and commercial reasons. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://www.peopledaily.com.cn/english/ |