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By Tom Westcott.
Tripoli, 28 June 2014:
The final stages of the relocation of state-owned Libyan Airlines back to its original headquarters in Benghazi . . .[restrict]will be overseen by the company’s new Chief Executive Officer.
Libyan Airlines engineer Ahmed Kidairi took up his position as the new CEO last week, outgoing CEO and continuing Chairman Khalid Taynaz told the Libya Herald. He said that, with his previous aviation experience and extensive knowledge about the workings of the airline, Kidairi was well-qualified to head the company.
It is expected that Derna-born Kidairi will initially spend two days a week in Tripoli, completing the processes of relocating the airline to Benghazi. The rest of his working time will be spent in the east of the country.
The relocation of Libyan Airlines to Benghazi, where it was established some 50 years ago, was announced in January this year. The move was in response to requests from Benghazi organisations, airline staff and local people.
“There has not been one single airline based in Benghazi for a long time and the move should at least make some balance in the country’s aviation industry,” Taynaz said. Despite the scale of the operation to transfer the airline to its new headquarters in downtown Benghazi, this was already 80 percent completed, he added.
The new premises will, however, be only temporary. The airline has acquired a large area of land on the road to Benina Airport where construction of a purpose-built headquarters, along with a training centre and small hotel for Libyan Airlines’ staff, is planned.
“We have already been in talks with construction companies who say the project could be completed within a year of starting,” Taynaz said. A start date could not be contemplated, however, until the security situation in Benghazi has settled down, he added. [/restrict]
