Saturday, October 15, 2011

BA says too early to start again Libya flights

British-Airways (BA)
British Airways (BA) said it is still reviewing the security risks of flying to Libya's capital Tripoli and will not restart operations before the NATO no fly zone is lifted.

The British flag carrier said it plans to start a review of the security risks of flying to the capital, Tripoli, but has no date to restart flights.

"We will be looking at chances to restart our operations when the no fly zone, which presently bars commercial operations and only allows limited charter flights for specific intention, is lifted," BA's international risk advisor William Sandover told Reuters.

The detail of this assess will get underway once the security situation on the ground and in the air becomes clearer.

IAG owned BA suspended its daily flight to Tripoli from London's Heathrow airport in February. In June BA said it hoped to restart its Libyan services at the end of October but this at the moment looks doubtful.

"We have not set a date to restart flights," said Sandover.

Some of British Airway's competitors are taking a less cautious approach and Libya's interim transport minister said this week that various international carriers have decided to start flights yet again.

Turkish Airlines is the lone carrier to have resume flights to Libya since rebel fighters captured Tripoli in August. A Turkish Airlines passenger service landed in Tripoli's Mitiga airport from Istanbul previous this month.

In March the U.N. Security Council approved a resolution on imposing a no fly zone in Libya to protect civilians from air attacks by fighters loyal to fallen leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The no-fly zone, extended for a further 90 days in late September, blocked all international commercial flights to and from the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

A U.N. Security resolution on Sept. 16 relieved some permit on Libya but kept the no fly zone in place, despite calls from South Africa and Russia for it to be lifted.

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