The Libyan Civil Aviation Authority concluded on 15 September in Tripoli a series of meetings with a Turkish Civil Aviation team. The Turkish delegation carried out an inspection of Libyan airports from 11 to 14 September to ascertain their readiness to receive flights by Turkish airlines. The inspected airports were Tripoli’s Mitiga airport, Benghazi’s Benina Airport, and Misrata airport.
Commenting on these meetings, the Director of the Media Office of the Tripoli-based Ministry of Transportation, Siraj Al-Hamal, stated that the Turkish audit team directly inspected the three main Libyan airports in Tripoli, Misrata, and Benghazi. They began the technical and security audit within them to ensure the compliance of Libya’s Civil Aviation Authority and the security authorities in the airports in applying international standards and global requirements imposed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Turkish team expressed its satisfaction
Al-Hamal pointed out that the Turkish team expressed its satisfaction with the commitment of the civil aviation authorities in Libya to the requirements required to be adhered to inside airports and on their runways to preserve the safety of civil aviation. He said the visits included positive indicators regarding the presence of a noticeable improvement in the application of standards and rules approved in the field of civil aviation in airports. He revealed that following the results of the audit, it will be decided whether or not Turkish Airlines will return to operating its flights to Libyan airports.
Several training courses conducted
In the context of adherence to international standards and controls for aviation safety, Al-Hamal reported that the Civil Aviation Authority has established several training tools for workers at Libyan airports. These include a training course to implement the digital transformation programme for the Civil Aviation Authority to raise the efficiency and capabilities of national cadres working in Libyan airports in order to meet the requirements and specifications of ICAO.
Another training course is in the field of aviation safety management (SMS) which includes preparing air safety inspectors, targeting employees working in the Airport Safety and Standards Office.
Civil Aviation Authority determined to return international airliners
Al-Hamal noted the Airports Authority’s insistence on implementing all the technical and security controls and standards imposed by the International Civil Aviation Organization, through implementing the plan to develop and modernize airports and training the human cadres working in them until international flights to Libya resume without obstacles.
Tripoli International Airport and Benina airports to be completed
Emphasizing that the Ministry of Transportation will harness all available capabilities to complete the new passenger lounges at Tripoli International Airports, which are being implemented by the Italian ENAS consortium with the participation of the Libyan Al-Imtiaz Al-Tamil Contracting Company, and Benina International Airport, which is being implemented by the Korean company NEMO with the participation of local companies.
