Lufthansa cancels all flights to Libya until October as other carriers fly back

By Taziz Hasairi.

Tripoli, 17 April 2014:

Lufthansa, Europe’s largest airline, has cancelled all scheduled flights to Tripoli until the end of the . . .[restrict]summer, citing security concerns.

The German airline first announced that it was suspending flights temporarily to and from the Libyan capital on 22 March after two missiles were fired at the runway at Tripoli International Airport. A second incident provoked further concern over security and a number of carriers including British Airways, Alitalia and Austrian Airlines made similar cancellations.

Lufthansa told the Libya Herald today that it had cancelled all its Libyan flights, which run from Frankfurt to Tripoli, until 14 October.  Flights to and from Vienna by Austrian Airlines, which is part of Lufthansa, as likewise cancelled.

However, Alitalia resumed its flights to Libya yesterday after nearly three weeks’ suspension. British Airways also announced that it would restart flights to Libya on 27 April after nearly a month of cancellations.

Royal Jordanian Airways has said it is now running regular flights to Libya after cancelling one flight two days ago in reaction to the kidnapping of the Jordanian Ambassador, Fawwaz Al-Eitan. [/restrict]