Libyan Wings, which began operations with flights from Tripoli to the Tunisian capital this month, is now looking to launch new routes, including one to Istanbul next month, the airline’s chief executive said on Sunday.
The airline, funded by Libyan investors, has had a passenger load factor of 70 per cent to Tunis since starting on October 7, said Edgardo Badiali, its chief executive.
Libyan Wings was to start operations last year, but the launch was delayed because of fighting between different militia groups for control of Tripoli’s airport in August last year.
Initially, Libyan Wings was supposed to fly to Istanbul as its first destination, but the Turkish government imposed a mandatory visa requirement for Libyan citizens from September 25.
Libyans, however, do not need a visa to enter Tunisia.
“The major issue at the moment is to find good destinations that don’t have visa requirement [for Libyans], because at times you don’t have embassies or consulates in Libya,” said Mr Badiali. “In general, most of the embassies have gone to Tunisia so people need to go to Tunisia and apply [for visas].”
Turkey, however, maintains its embassy in Misurata in Libya, allowing the airline to stick to its plans of launching flights to Istanbul from Libya next month.
Libyan Wings will also launch services to Khartoum in the next few weeks and to Lebanon and Egypt at a later stage.
“In the future it will be good to fly to Egypt. We have 1.5 million Egyptians working in Libya,” said Mr Badiali.
“Istanbul also is important for us. You have a lot of Libyans living there. You also have a lot of Turkish investment in Libya and if the economy picks up, more [Libyans] will come here.”
Libyan Wings is also looking to start a separate freight operation, but this will probably be at a later date once the security situation in the country stabilises. The airline has secured 13,000 square metres of space at its base in Tripoli’s Mitiga International Airport.
Mr Badiali said that his company could be profitable within a year if its two aircraft were “used optimally and the market demand continues at the same level”. Libyan Wings operates a pair of A319 aircraft leased from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise.
The airline had ordered four Airbus A350s and four Airbus A320neos at the Dubai Air Show in 2013, but Mr Badiali did not provide a timeline on the deliveries.
The airline competes with Libyan Airlines and Afriqiyah Airways, and smaller carriers such as Buraq Air.
selgazzar@thenational.ae
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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Crawley Town 3 (Tsaroulla 50', Nadesan 53', Tunnicliffe 70')
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