Tripoli by plane
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Resumption of civil aviation services:
Tripoli International Airport
Mitiga International Airport
Although the NFZ has now been lifted it may require an extended time for normal scheduled commercial air services to return to Libya. When services are restored recommenced operational schedules may be subject to disruptions including delays, re-routing and flight cancellations. It is reasonable to assume that the provision of normal national civil aviation regulation and safety standards will also be subject to serious disruption.
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Tripoli International Airport, (IATA: TIP, ICAO: HLLT) 'Arabic: مطار طرابلس العالمي), is the nation's largest airport and is located in the town of Ben Ghashir 34 km (21 mi) south of the Tripoli city centre. Prior to closure during the Libyan civil war of 2011 it served as a hub for Libyan Airlines, Afriqiyah Airways and Buraq Air. It was previously operated by the Civil Aviation and Meteorology Bureau of Libya, it is currently operating under an ad-hoc management.
Prior to the outbreak of armed conflict and closure of the airport in mid 2011 many well-known international carriers were flying to the Libyan capital such as British Airways, Lufthansa, KLM, Emirates and Alitalia.
Scheduled civil airline services were suspended when NATO enforced a No Fly Zone (NFZ) over Libyan airspace in 2011. Prior to this international and domestic flights were departing the airport from the main International passenger terminal. The terminal capacity was previously 3 million passengers a year. Two new terminals were to be built within the next several years bringing the total capacity of the airport to 20 million passenger movements. The first new terminal was due to open by March 2011 however the airport now requires extensive reconstruction. The radar system was seriously damaged in a NATO air strike in late August 2011. Fighting at the airport destroyed several commercial airliners and the airport infrastructure was damaged.
The airport currently features one main terminal building, which acts as both the international and national terminal for the airport.
The existing dual use terminal is a five-floor building with an area of 33,000m2. Check-in facilities are situated in the ground floor. Departure and duty-free shops are located on the first floor. A lounge and prayer room where previously also available in the terminal, as well as a restaurant located on the fourth floor.
The Tripoli International Airport airport was officially re-opened for civil aircraft operations on 11 October 2011.
Libyan Airlines are currently operating limited services from Tripoli International Airport to Cairo in Egypt.
Mitiga International Airport. (IATA: MJI, ICAO: HLLM) is located about 8 km (5 mi) east of Tripoli's city centre. It is a public airport and was established in 1995. Scheduled civil airline services were operated to to Benghazi and Misrata and international service to Istanbul, Turkey-(Aleppo) and Syriabut but these were suspended when NATO enforced a No Fly Zone (NFZ) over Libyan airspace in 2011. The airport housed the headquarters of Buraq Air at the time of suspension of civil operations at the airport. Mitiga International Airport Prior was used by United States Air Force (USAF) prior to June 1970, it was known as Wheelus Air Base. Subsequently, the facility was known as Okba Ben Nafi Air Base, a Libyan People's Air Force (LPAF) installation. It sustained damage from NATO airstrikes and fighting between ground forces during the civil war in 2011, much of it arising from an attack on 21 August 2011 by forces opposed to the government of Libya.
Turkish Airlines have resumed limited services from Mitiga International Airport to Istanbul-(Ataturk)]].
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Tripoli
