Egypt Denies Imposing Overfly Ban For Libyan Flights

Egypt on Tuesday denied the existence of any ban on Libyan planes flying over Egypt, the Ahram Arabic news website reported.

Earlier in the day, the official Facebook page of the Matiga airport in Tripoli had claimed that a Libyan airplane bound for Istanbul had returned to the airport one hour after taking off, due to an overfly ban for their planes from the Egyptians. “Flights are suspended until further notice,” it stated.

Libyan Airlines had via its own Facebook page reported that the Egyptian aviation authorities had cancelled all the national carrier’s permits to travel over Egyptian airspace for its flights to Istanbul.

Aviation minister Hossam Kamal said these reports were “completely false”, according to Ahram Arabic.

International flights have ceased to fly to Tripoli’s main airport since it was damaged in fighting last summer.

Early on Monday, Egypt bombed suspected Islamic State (IS) bases in Libya, in retaliation for the militant group beheading 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in the country.

A 2011 European Union Council decision imposed a no-fly zone over Libyan airspace.

Since the toppling of dictator Muammar Ghaddafi in 2011, rival militias have fought a weak central government across the country.

Almost all foreign countries have evacuated their embassies and consulates in Libya.

Source : Ahram online