Italy and Libya resume commercial flights after 10-year hiatus, say officials

Italy and war-torn Libya on Saturday resumed commercial flights for  first time in a dece, authorities in Libyan capital said.

Flight MT522, operated by Libyan carrier Medsky Airways, departed Mitiga International Airport in Tripoli for Rome's Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport, according to Libyan airport authorities. re were 25 passengers on flight, said Hamdi al-Zan, he of Libyan airline.

A return flight was scheduled to land in Tripoli on Saturday afternoon, according to Mitiga International Airport. re will be a round-trip flight between Libyan and Italian capitals on Saturdays and Wednesdays, according to Mitiga airport announcement.

government of Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah in Tripoli lauded resumed flights, posting photos on social media that showed passengers boarding flight and officials celebrating.

Italy and or Western nations banned flights from Libya as oil-rich nation in North Africa plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Ghafi in 2011.

In disarray that followed, country split into rival ministrations in east and west, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.

Amid chaos, Libya has h direct flights to limited destinations, including cities in neighboring Egypt and Tunisia, and or Middle Eastern countries, such as Jordan.

government of Premier Giorgia Meloni in July lifted Italy's 10-year ban on civil aviation in Libya. Italian and Libyan authorities agreed that one airline company from each country would operate flights between two capitals.

Dbeibah subsequently returned from attending a conference on migration in Rome on a chartered flight with a commercial airline.