Lifting Of Sanctions Seen As Boon For Air Travel

The recent easing of diplomatic tensions between the US and Libya may soon have a profound impact on the North African nation's aviation sector... especially for the private Libyan airline Buraq Air, which is set to receive two new Boeing planes later this year.

Such an order would have been unthinkable just two years ago, when the country was still under tight sanctions due to Libya's inclusion on the US "state sponsor of terrorism" list. Since the US moved to resume full diplomatic negotiations with the country, however, many in Libya's aviation sector see a new frontier emerging for that country's airlines.

For example, with more planes comes more routes for Buraq to fly... such as "Sudan, Egypt and Tunisia," said Buraq Air general director Captain Mohamed Bubeida to the BBC. "With the demands now and the increase of traffic between Tunis, Cairo and Damascus for example, Buraq will at least cover the gap."

That, of course, will require better passenger facilities... as well as more air traffic controllers to handle the skies.

"The terminals are not up to standard -- the airports we have now, Tripoli International or Maitega, they have to be renewed completely," Bubeida said. "We would like to see a new airport with new facilities and new services. It's a huge investment that needs to be done either by the government or other investors."

One of the priorities for Buraq is also to update its fleet of older planes to meet ICAO safety standards. Several -- but not all -- of the carrier's planes were listed on the blacklist announced by the EU in March.

While it will take some time for Libya to rebuild its aviation infrastructure after years of neglect, the country's leaders are optimistic that Libya will soon be a valuable hub for other airlines flying into Africa.

The leader of state-owned airline Afriqiyah, Captain Sabri Abdallah, also expressed hope that one day Libya will be able to compete on the worldwide market.

"We will see American companies, especially in the oil sector, more involved in the Libyan market, and a lot of Libyan institutes will head for the US for training or other business missions," said Abdallah. "And don't forget we use Tripoli as a hub for the rest of Africa so we could use the Afriqiyah flights to the US to extend our network of operations."

Libyan airlines flying to the US... the times, they are a'changin'.

FMI: www.afriqiyah.aero