STORY: First commercial flight from Libya to Italy in almost 10 years takes off
DATELINE: Oct. 1, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:56
LOCATION: Tripoli
CATEGORY: ECONOMY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the airport
2. various of passengers
3. various of the flight
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic): MOHAMED ABDUSSALAM AL-ABELEK, Passenger

STORYLINE:

A Rome-bound flight took off Saturday in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, resuming direct scheduled flights between Libya and Italy after a nearly 10-year halt.
   
Operated by Libya-based Medsky Airways, the flight took off from Tripoli's Mitiga International Airport for Rome's Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino International Airport.
   
The airline offers a roundtrip flight on Saturdays and Wednesdays between Tripoli and Rome, Medsky Airways announced on its Facebook account.
   
SOUNDBITE (Arabic): MOHAMED ABDUSSALAM AL-ABELEK, Passenger
"As a resident of Rome, I used to travel to Rome through Tunisia. I thank Medsky and all the airport staff for this service and wish them good luck."

Meanwhile, the Libyan Ministry of Transport said that the two countries' civil aviation authorities signed a memorandum of understanding on civil aviation cooperation and air transport.
   
The deal, signed in Tripoli, would also facilitate and encourage airline companies in the two countries to operate charter and regular flights, said the ministry in a statement.
   
In December 2014, the European Commission banned all Libyan airlines from operating in European airspace citing security reasons.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Tripoli.
(XHTV)