Libya resumes flight service starting with Turkey

TRIPOLI

Ending a four-month-plus hiatus due to the pandemic, Libyan airlines resumed flights on Sunday starting with renewed service to Libya's ally Turkey.

The first of the restarted flights was by Libyan Wings Airlines to Turkey, said Misrata International Airport in a statement.

Misrata is based in a coastal town of the same name some 187 kilometers (116 miles) east of the capital Tripoli.

The second scheduled flight is set to be an Afriqiyah Airways flight.

Turkish-Libyan relations have deep roots, and Turkey has been a strong supporter of the country’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA). Last fall the countries signed pacts on military and security cooperation as well as maritime boundaries.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, Libya on March 15 closed its land and air borders, along with many other countries worldwide.

To date 60 people in the country have died due to the virus, out of 669 cases so far; 553 patients have recovered.

Since it originated in China last December, the coronavirus pandemic has claimed over 647,000 lives in 188 countries and regions.

Some 16.2 million COVID-19 cases have been reported around the world to date, with recoveries topping 9.32 million, according to figures compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.