Libyan Airlines, formerly known as Libyan Arab Airlines over several decades, is the flag carrier of Libya. Libyan Airlines also operates Hajj services. which is concentrated on European business and tourist customers. Newly introduced destinations like Milan, Ankara, Athens and Madrid have led to a route network similar to the one offered prior to the 1992 trade embargo.
Libyan Civil Waronwards
thumb|A [[Tunisian-registered Airbus A320-200 wearing the Libyan Airlines livery on short final to Manchester Airport in 2012. The airline wet-leased this type of aircraft from Nouvelair in order to serve European destinations during the ban. The airline restarted operations in October the same year flying the Tripoli–Cairo route. The airline was removed from the list of air carriers banned in the EU in December the same year, as well as from the subsequent list released in . Despite this, Libyan Airlines served the European market with wet-leased aircraft due to the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority (LYCAA) voluntarily opting for a ban until Libyan crews become re-certified. Despite information regarding LYCAA's failure for meeting international safety standards that may lead to an effective ban,
, the CEO position was held by Khaled Ben Alewa.
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Proposed merger with Afriqiyah Airways
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 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%).
The proposed privatisation and merger with Afriqiyah Airways has also been postponed, despite the fact it was originally planned to be effective in November 2010. The two carriers were later expected to merge in late 2011, however the Arab Spring and poor organisation forced this deal to be postponed many more times. Both airlines are to merge by the first half of 2013, according to Libya's current Interim Transport Minister Yousef el-Uheshi – 12 to 13 months after negotiations are expected to resume in March 2012. The successful merging of the carriers depends on the government's ability to cut costs in both workforce and salaries, which rival European carriers in size. --> In late , the carrier took delivery of the first Airbus A330,
Current fleet
thumb|A Libyan Airlines [[CRJ-900 on short final at Manchester Airport in 2008.]]
, Libyan Airlines operates an all-Airbus fleet composed of the following aircraft:
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; border-collapse:collapse; text-align:center"
|+ Libyan Airlines Fleet
|-
! rowspan=2 | Aircraft
! rowspan=2 | In Fleet
! rowspan=2 | Orders
! colspan=3 | Passengers
! rowspan=2 | Notes
|-
!<abbr title="Business class"> J</abbr>
!<abbr title="Economy class"> Y</abbr>
!Total
|-
|Airbus A320-200
|3
|—
|12
|156
|168
|
|-
|Airbus A330-200
|2
|—
|24
|235
|259
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|-
!Aircraft
!Introduced
!Retired
|-
|Airbus A300
|1991
|2011
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|Airbus A310
|1986
|2007
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|Airbus A320
|1999
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|-
|ATR 42-500
|2009
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|-
|Boeing 707
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|
|-
|Boeing 720
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|-
|Boeing 727
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|-
|Boeing 737-200
|1979
|1981
|-
|Boeing 747-200
|1980
|2004
|-
|Bombardier CRJ900
|2007
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|-
|Douglas DC-8
|1978
|1980
|-
|Fokker F27 Friendship
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|
|-
|Fokker F28 Fellowship
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|-
|Fokker 100
|1990
|1994
|-
|Handley Page Dart Herald
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|-
|Ilyushin Il-76
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|-
|Lockheed L-100 Hercules
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|-
|Lockheed L-1011 TriStar
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|-
|Sud Aviation Caravelle
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|-
|Tupolev Tu-154
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|}
Incidents and accidents
Fatal accidents
- On 21 February 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.
- 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.
- On 22 December 1992, Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 1103, a Boeing 727-200 registered 5A-DIA, disintegrated on approach to Tripoli International Airport. The official government story was that it had collided with a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 of the Libyan Air Force over Tripoli. Both aircraft crashed, killing all 159 persons on board the Boeing but the 2 crew of the air force jet ejected safely, 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.
- 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 Tripoli. 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.
- On 7 December 1991, a Libyan Arab Airlines Boeing 707 (registered 5A-DJT) crashed on take-off at Tripoli International Airport. There were no fatalities among the 189 passengers and ten crew on board.
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.
- 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.
- On 25 August 2011, during the Libyan Civil War, a Libyan Airlines Airbus A300-600 (registered 5A-DLZ) was destroyed during fighting actions at Tripoli International Airport.
- On 15 July 2014, a Libyan Airlines Airbus A330 (registered 5A-LAS) suffered substantial damage in the right hand fuselage during the fighting actions at Tripoli International Airport. The aircraft is now stored for maintenance.
- On 20 July 2014, a Libyan Airlines Bombardier CRJ-900 (registered 5A-LAL) was destroyed during fighting actions at Tripoli International Airport.
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.
- On 24 August 1979, another Boeing 727 was forced to divert from its Benghazi-Tripoli route and land at Larnaca.
- 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.
- On 7 December 1981, an LAA flight from Zürich 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.
- On 20 February 1983, Flight 484 was hijacked en route a flight from Sabha to Benghazi. The two hijackers forced the 727 (registered 5A-DII) to land in Malta, and surrendered three days later.
- 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.
See also
- Transportation in Libya
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
Further reading
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