Update on Benghazi airport, Libya

5 May 2017 - RPS Partnership

For those of you working in Libya, you may find this news of interest. Contact us if you plan to travel there to assist you with advice, training and support. Libya is still a dangerous country and needs prior preparation and planning with robust training from experienced trainers. We can provide this for you.

We have people in Libya who can help you on the ground, so contact us in [email protected]

Benina International Airport (HLLB/BEN) in Benghazi is set to reopen for civil aviation on 16 May 2017.

All flight operations to the airport were suspended in July 2014 due to fighting in the area. However, the country's self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) – led by General Khalifa Haftar – requested the resumption of civil aviation to the airport as they gain more ground in the battle against militias in Eastern Libya. Gradual steps have reportedly taken place ahead of the full reopening of the airport including individual high-level flights in February followed by cargo flights in April.

Although the LNA claims the airport will be reopened under heightened security measures, no carriers have agreed to start operating flights to Benghazi. A limited number of flights currently reach Libya solely operated by the state-owned Afriqiyah Airways. The security situation in Benghazi and the majority of the country remains volatile with a number of terrorist groups, militias and competing governments fighting over control of land and resources in the oil-rich nation.

The security profile is unlikely to improve in the near to medium term, and it should be noted that a majority of Western governments including the U.S. and U.K. warn against all travel to Libya.

Contacts us here for more information on travel to Libya. Our open courses for Hostile Environment Training are listed here. Please contact us to book your place now. Places are filling up fast.

Photo: Benghazi airport