Libyan Airlines

Libyan Airlines (Arabic: الخطوط الجوية الليبية‎; transliterated: al-Khutut al-Jawiyah al-Libiyah), known as Libyan Arab Airlines over several decades, is the national flag carrier airline of Libya. Based in Tripoli, it operates scheduled passenger and cargo services within Libya and to Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, the majority of which leave from Tripoli International Airport. Benina International Airport in Benghazi serves as a secondary base.^[1] The company is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization and the International Air Transport Association.

Due to the 2011 Libyan civil war, the airline has been grounded since March of that year. Also, the proposed privatisation and merger with Afriqiyah Airways, which originally was planned to be effective in November 2010, has been postponed.

History

The airline was established in 1964 as Kingdom of Libya Airlines, and the first revenue flights took place in October 1965. From the beginning, it concentrated on providing services from Tripoli and Benghazi to Europe and the neighboring countries of Libya, as well as operating a multitude of domestic routes. By 1968, the international network included destinations like Athens, Beirut, Cairo, Geneva, London, Paris, Rome or Tunis, which were served using either Caravelle or Fokker F27 aircraft. There were interline agreements with Alitalia, Middle East Airlines and BOAC.^[2]

Following the rule in Libya having been taken over by Muammar Gaddafi in 1969, the airline was renamed Libyan Arab Airlines (commonly abbreviated LAA). During the 1970s, Boeing 727s for short-haul routes and Boeing 707s for long-haul flights became the backbone of the fleet, allowing for a growing route network. Until 1986, flights to European destinations like Amsterdam, Belgrade, Bucharest, Budapest, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Prague, Sofia, Vienna, Warsaw and Zurich had been commenced, as well as to Algiers, Khartoum, Kuwait and Karachi.^[3][4][5][6]

The airline suffered a setback due to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 748, which was adopted on 31 March 1992 as a consequence of the Libyan government allegedly having supported the terrorists responsible for the bombings of Pan Am Flight 103 (on 21 December 1988) and UTA Flight 772 (on 19 September 1989). The resolution saw a trade embargo being imposed on Libya, which included the delivery of aircraft supply, and Libyan Airlines was denied any landing or overflight rights of third-party countries. Thus, all international flights came to an end, and LAA could only operate on domestic routes. As the company was unable to receive spare parts for its then fleet of Boeing, Douglas, Airbus and Lockheed airliners, Soviet built aircraft of the types Ilyushin Il-76 and Tupolev Tu-154 were acquired.

When the trade sanctions were lifted in early 1999, Libyan Arab Airlines could rebuilt its international network, and order new aircraft from manufacturers like Airbus, Bombardier or ATR. Amman became the first non-domestic destination to be served again. Fleet and route network grew further when regional carrier Air Jamahiriya was merged into Libyan Arab Airlines in 2001.^[1] In 2006, the airline was renamed Libyan Airlines. In 2007, 885,000 passengers were carried, 40 percent of which were travelling on domestic flights. The airline pursues an expansion policy,^[7] which is concentrated on European business and tourist customers. Newly introduced destinations like Milan, Ankara,^[8] Athens^[9] and Madrid have led to a route network similar to the one offered prior to the 1992 trade embargo.

On 31 July 2007, Libyan Airlines became a subsidiary of the state owned Libyan Afriqiyah Aviation Holding Company (LAAHC), together with Afriqiyah Airways. LAAHC is owned by four pre-revolution government bodies: The Libyan National Social Fund (30%), the Libyan National Investment Company (30%), the Libya-Africa Investment Fund (25%), and the Libyan Foreign Investment Company (15%).^[10] On 21 September 2010, it was announced that the two airlines, which had already begun extensive code-sharing and set up joint ground handling, maintenance and catering services, were to merge by November of that year, which was later postponed indefinitely, though.^{[11] [12]}

As a consequence of the Libyan civil war and the resulting no-fly zone over the country enforced by NATO in accordance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, all flight operations with Libyan Airlines were terminated on 17 March 2011.^[13]

Destinations

Fleet

As of November 2011, the commercial fleet of Libyan Airlines consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 4.4 years, all of which are currently grounded:^[14]

Additionally, one VIP-configured Boeing 727-200 was operated for the Libyan government.^[15]

Recent aircraft orders

In order to modernize and expand its fleet, Libyan Airlines placed several orders with aircraft manufacturers:

• In December 2007, a previous memorandum of understanding with Airbus was converted into a firm order for fifteen new aircraft (four of the newly developed Airbus A350 long-haul aircraft, four Airbus A330-200s, and seven short-haul A320s), the first of which was delivered in September 2010.^[16]
• The airline's ageing short-haul fleet of Fokker F28 Fellowship aircraft was replaced with Bombardier CRJ900s, which were delivered beginning in 2009. In October 2010, the order was increased by another six aircraft of that type.^[17]

Fleet development

Over the years, the company operated the following aircraft types:^[18][19]

Incidents and accidents

Fatal accidents

• On 21 February 21 1973 at around 14:10 local time, Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 from Tripoli to Cairo, which was operated by a Boeing 727-200 (registered 5A-DAH), was shot down by Israeli fighter aircraft because it was thought to be a foreign military attack aircraft. Among the 113 people on board, only one crew member and four passengers survived the subsequent crash-landing in the desert near Ismaïlia.^[20]
• On 2 December 1977, a Tupolev 154 (registered LZ-BTN), which was chartered by Libyan Arab Airlines from Balkan Bulgarian Airlines to operate a Hajj flight from Jeddah to Benghazi crashed near Benina International Airport because of fuel exhaustion. The aircraft had been circling the airport because it could not land due to dense fog, and an alternate landing strip could not be reached in time. 59 of the 159 passengers died in the accident, whilst all six crew members survived.^[21]
• On 22 December 1992, Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 1103, a Boeing 727-200 registered 5A-DIA, collided with a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 of the Libyan Air Force over Tripoli. Both aircraft crashed, killing all 157 persons on board the Boeing and the 2 crew of the air force jet,^[22] making it the worst accident in the history of the airline.

Non-fatal incidents

• On 28 November 1981, a Libyan Arab Airlines Fokker F27 Friendship (registered 5A-DBE) was damaged beyond repair in a forced landing in the desert near Kufra, which had become necessary because the aircraft had run out of fuel.^[23]
• On 6 June 1989, an LAA Fokker F27 (registered 5A-DDV) experienced an engine failure shortly after take-off from Zella Airfield for a flight to Tripolis. The crew tried to return to the airfield, but had to execute a forced landing in the desert instead, during which the aircraft was destroyed. The 36 passengers and three crew members survived the crash.^[24]
• On 7 December 1991, a Libyan Arab Airlines Boeing 707 (registered 5A-DJT) crashed upon take-off at Tripoli International Airport. There were no fatalities among the 189 passengers and ten crew on board.^[25]

Military occurrences

Several aircraft of the company were destroyed on the ground in different war events:

• On 5 June 1967, during the Six-Day War, a Kingdom of Libya Airlines Learjet 23 (registered 5A-DAD), which was parked at Damascus International Airport, was destroyed in an Israeli air raid.^[26]
• On 15 April 1986, a Libyan Arab Airlines Fokker F27 Friendship (registered 5A-DLP) was destroyed at Benina International Airport during the United States bombing of the airfield as part of Operation El Dorado Canyon.^[27]
• On August 25, 2011, during the 2011 Libyan civil war, a Libyan Airlines Airbus A300-600 (registered 5A-DLZ) was destroyed during fighting actions at Tripoli International Airport.^[28][29]

Hijackings

• On 6 July 1976, an LAA Boeing 727 was hijacked during a flight from Tripoli to Benghazi and forced to land at Palma de Mallorca Airport, where the perpetrator surrendered.^[30]
• On 24 August 1979, another Boeing 727 was forced to divert from its Benghazi-Tripoli route and land at Larnaca.^[31]
• On 16 October of the same year, a domestic flight from Hun to Tripoli was hijacked by three passengers, who forced the Fokker F27 Friendship (registered 5A-DDU) to divert to Malta. After two days on the ground at Luqa Airport, the perpetrators surrendered.^[32]
• On 7 December 1981, an LAA flight from Zurich to Tripoli was hijacked by three persons who thus wanted to press prisoners free. The Boeing 727 was flown to Beirut, were the perpetrators surrendered.^[33]
• On 20 February 1983, Flight 484 was hijacked en route a flight from Sabha, Libya to Benghazi. The two hijackers forced the 727 (registered 5A-DII) to land in Malta, were the surrendered three days later.^[34]
• Also in 1983, on 22 June, an LAA Boeing 707 was hijacked during a flight from Athens to Tripoli, by two persons who demanded to be taken to Iran. During the negotiations, the aircraft was flown to Rome and Larnaca, where the hijackers surrendered.^[35]

References

External links

• Official website (currently defunct)