Home » Aviation: Italian Carrier, ITA Airways Marks Historic Return to Libya in North Africa with Direct Flights

Aviation: Italian Carrier, ITA Airways Marks Historic Return to Libya in North Africa with Direct Flights

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ITA Airways

On Sunday, ITA Airways became the first EU flag carrier to resume operations to Libya, signaling a milestone in the region’s aviation sector. Flight AZ868 departed Rome’s Fiumicino Airport at 09:25 and touched down at Tripoli’s Mitiga International Airport just over an hour later, at 11:58.

Accordign to simpleflying.com, the service was operated with a 2013 Airbus A319-100, registration EI-IMX and MSN 05424 which departed MJI at 13:46 and landed in Rome at 14:08.

Fleet data from ch-aviation shows that ITA Airways (ITA) has a fleet of 102 aircraft, of which 15 are inactive. The all-Airbus fleet includes ten A220-100s, 11 A220-300s, 11 A319-100s, 21 A320-200s, 19 A320neos, seven A321LRs, six A330-200s, 11 A330-900neos and six A350-900s. The same data shows that ITA has 30 aircraft to be delivered, including:

  • three Airbus A220-100s
  • five Airbus A220-300s
  • twelve Airbus A320neos
  • two Airbus A321LRs
  • six Airbus A330-900neos
  • two Airbus A350-900s

The Airbus A319 used for the inaugural flight is most seen on the mainline route bewteen Rome and Florence Peretola Airport (FLR) in Italy’s north. On Saturday, EI-IMX operated eight flights between the two cities, with the first departing Florence at 06:42 and the last arriving in Florence at 22:22.

Sending the first flight to Tripoli off in fine style

The customary launch cake was another masterpiece, front and center at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Terminal 3 of Leonardo da Vinci Fiumicino Airport. ITA Airways General Manager Andrea Benassi said the airline is proud to inaugurate its first direct commercial flight between Tripoli and Rome Fiumicino, strengthening commercial and cultural ties between Libya and Italy to support bilateral relations between the two countries.

READ: News: South Sudan, Libya, Senegal, Sudan, Uganda others among Top 10 African Nations Set to Lead GDP Growth in 2025

“This new flight is yet another demonstration of the Company’s ongoing commitment to providing high-quality connectivity for Italy while proudly supporting the progress, growth and development of the Nation and the business communities operating in Libya. The opening of this direct connection is a virtuous example of public-private collaboration.”

The route operates twice weekly on Thursdays and Sundays, departing Rome at 09:15 and arriving in Tripoli Mitiga at 12:10, while the return departs MJI at 13:05 and lands in Rome at 14:10. The ITA Airways new connection will open new economic and commercial opportunities and build a bridge between Italy and Libya, strengthening Rome as a hub for air connectivity to Africa.

READ: Aviation: Turkish Airlines Adds Benghazi, Libya as Its 51st African Destination

Libya’s Ambassador to Italy, Muhanad Saeid Younus, attended the celebration and said the connection represents a significant step in strengthening cooperation between the two countries and is the result of joint efforts by the Libyan and Italian governments.

“It is a new beginning that reinforces the ties between our peoples and opens new opportunities for economic, commercial and cultural cooperation. We hope this will be just the first of many bilateral successes for the benefit of both Nations.”

The codeshare with Icelandair is starting in January

In December, ITA Airways and Icelandair announced they had signed a codeshare deal with travel beginning on January 20, 2025. The codeshare, ITA’s 37th, will allow customers to seamlessly travel across the two airlines’ networks and enhance connectivity between Rome and Reykjavik.

It will also open connections to ITA’s extensive domestic network, including flights to Catania, Palermo, Naples, Bologna, Florence, Bari, Genoa, Trieste, Lamezia Terme, Venice and Turin. Icelandair has daily flights from Reykjavik to Milan and Rome in the summer season, and it has announced it is increasing winter season flights to Rome to four times weekly.

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