The Tripoli government plans to launch a state airline carrier soon. The announcement arrived while rival groups claimed authority over the same land. Each group runs a separate military and manages its own oil income.
Both sides work with different foreign partners. Starting a single airline requires coordination that does not exist now.
Unified Skies and the Loss of a Military Leader
The news arrived as Lieutenant General Mohammed Ali Ahmed al-Haddad died in a plane crash near Ankara. Al-Haddad was a leader who wanted to unite the military and earned respect even from people he once fought. The crash killed a small group of high-ranking officials, including General Al-Fitouri Gharibil and a few crew members.
Turkish investigators looked into the event after the plane reported electrical errors. Officials in Tripoli mourned him openly. Leaders in Benghazi offered sympathy despite the history of armed conflict between the groups.
Existing Fleets and the Struggles of Domestic Aviation
State carriers operate from Tripoli under western rules. Libyan Airlines and Afriqiyah Airways have only a pair of planes each. The planes are old and cannot fly to Europe because of a safety ban from years ago.
Travellers find more cancelled flights than departures. Aviation expert Dr Mohamed Mohamed Issa says the new carrier is a private venture. The plan involves gathering small firms that fly domestic routes in the absence of official support.
Oil Revenues and Economic Barriers
Funding a state airline requires shared wealth. Haftar’s group ships oil through eastern ports, while the Tripoli group manages western fields. Neither side trusts the other with propellant subsidies.
A working airline needs leaders dedicated to shared banks. The dinar trades at different rates across a country where banks operate in isolation.
Buying new planes in foreign money would require dual authorisation from opposing groups. Turkey provides drones to the west. Russia provides weapons to the east. The two sides use different propellant grades and maintain different aircraft types.
Regional Competition and Geopolitical Cooperation
Airlines from Tunisia and Egypt carry most of the people who fly abroad. The companies profit from the lack of a local competitor. Hubs in Tunis and Cairo take the passengers a Libyan airline would want.
Turkish defence leaders spoke with al-Haddad in Ankara about military cooperation. The Turkish parliament voted to keep soldiers in Libya for two years. Private pilots work between the two systems and pay fees to many different groups.
Unification would end the income for people who run the checkpoints.
Sovereignty in Fragments
A state airline needs a single government to work. Currently, two groups reject each other, voting remains delayed, and the laws are not finished.
Malik Traina from Al Jazeera called al-Haddad a leader who wanted peace. Over a decade after the old regime fell, the state remains split between men who view power as a zero-sum possession.
Keep up with Daily Euro Times for more updates!
Read also:
Libya: EU Patches Up a Broken Seam
Mediterranean Storms Intensify: Human Choices Amplify Natural Disasters
Aviation in the Safari: Tanzania’s Coming of Age
