Libya’s Transport Minister, Mohamed Al-Shahubi, met in his Tripoli office on Monday Mohamed Al-Farea, Regional Director of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Middle East Office, and a delegation that includes experts specialized in the fields of aviation security, navigation and air safety.
The meeting was attended by Khaled Swesi, Undersecretary for Air Transport Affairs, Mohamed Shalibak, Head of the Civil Aviation Authority and Mohamed Fasatawi, Acting head of the Airports Authority.
First high-level visit by ICAO to Libya
The Transport Ministry noted that this is the first visit of a high-level delegation from the ICAO to Libya, and this visit aims to discuss ways of cooperation for the organization in supporting the plans and programmes of the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority to develop the sector and end Libya’s EU air embargo.
The Ministry said the ICAO visit will last 3 days during which the delegation will visit Mitiga airport and Misrata airport to inspect the procedures followed and to identify the extent of their conformity with the standards and rules approved by the ICAO.
The visiting delegation held a meeting with specialists in the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority, including the Director of the Airport Safety Evaluation and Standards Office, the Director of the Air Navigation Department, and the Director of the Licensing and Examinations Office.
Al-Tuhamy Omar Owhida, Assistant Head of the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority, made a visual presentation to the visiting delegation of the development programmes of the departments affiliated with the Authority in the areas of safety, air navigation and airport licensing, in addition to the digital transformation project and completing the requirements for lifting the air embargo.
For the support and sponsorship of the Minister of Transportation for the aviation sector, and for his part, the regional office expressed its readiness to provide full support and assistance to the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority to get out of the air embargo as soon as possible.
The Transport Ministry reported that the visiting delegation ‘‘expressed its deep appreciation for the plans and programmes intended to be achieved by the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority. It also praised the support and care of the Minister of Transportation for the aviation sector.
It also reported that the ICAO regional office expressed ‘‘its readiness to provide full support and assistance to the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority to get out of the air embargo as soon as possible’’.
ICAO audit visit end of 2023
Reporting separately on the delegation’s visit to Mitiga airport, the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority said the ICAO delegation visit comes ‘‘in preparation for the audit visit to be held at the end of this year in order to lift the ban imposed on Libyan airports and carrier companies.’’
