Panafrican News Agency

Tripoli's Maitigua airport closed twice to flights in less than 24 hours

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Flights were suspended late on Wednesday evening for the second time in less than 24 hours at Maitigua airport, at the eastern suburbs of Tripoli, after missiles landed at the facility, illustrating the persistence tension in the Libyan capital despite a ceasefire.

The ceasefire declared on 12 January by both sides brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is holding.

This is despite the failure to formalise it by an agreement, which was signed in Moscow by the President of the Council of the Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez al-Sarraj, but which Marshal Khalifa Haftar, leader of the Libyan National Army (LNA) refused to sign.

"Flights have been suspended at the airport until further notice, and flights will be diverted to Misrata International Airport, 220 km east of Tripoli, from Thursday," according to a statement issued by the management of the International Airport.

The management of the airport had announced earlier on Wednesday, "the suspension of flights until further notice, due to the explosion of several shells fired at random", before announcing later that the airlines will begin procedures to resume their scheduled flights, taking into account the delay.

On Wednesday, the spokesperson for forces affiliated with the GNA, Colonel Mohamed Ganounou, announced that forces of the Haftar-led LNA bombed the airport with six Grad missiles, noting that the bombing was "a repeated violation of the ceasefire and a threat to air traffic".  

The only airport serving the capital, Tripoli, Maitigua airport, has been the target of regular shelling since Marshal Haftar launched the military offensive on 4 April to take control of the capital and overthrow the GNA.

-0- PANA BY/JSG/BBA/MA 23Jan2020