By Libya Herald reporters.
Benghazi, 4 July 2017:
Flights to and from Tobruk have once again been disrupted as young demonstrators blockaded Tobruk airport’s only fuel depot demanding jobs.
A similar protest in February forced the closure of the airport while a deal was worked out. The fuel depot, run by Brega Marketing was the focus of the demonstration because the young people claimed that the oil company had promised to create new jobs. The assurances given in February which ended the protest then appear not to have been acted on, so once against the young jobless have taken action.
Tobruk Airport boss Hasan Halil said today that he had no control over who Brega Oil hired. But because under Civil Aviation Authority rules aircraft had to be able to refuel at Tobruk, he frustrated Halil said he had no alternative than to once again close the airport.
Halil told Alwasat that it was high time these protests were brought to an end. It was time, he said, for the House of Representatives (HoR), the government in Beida, Brega Marketing and the National Oil Corporation to get a grip on the problem and act on any commitments that had been made. This disruption to airline passengers had to end, he said.
