Mitiga airport, Libya’s only fully operating airport in the capital Tripoli, has announced that it will be closing its airspace for six hours, from midnight to 6am, for the next three months, the Libya Herald reported on Friday.
The new hours follow the airport, which doubles as a military base, temporarily closing down completely on Wednesday for security reasons after reports of gunfire in the vicinity.
Flights from Mitiga, were diverted to Misrata airport, after Libyan media reports initially suggested that a mortar shell fell near Mitiga’s watch tower on Wednesday.
However, this was denied by the RADA Special Deterrence Force which is based at the airport compound. Other reports said that a Wings airline flight was shot at as it was about to take off.
A state of emergency was declared in the area surrounding the airport in January when Mitiga suffered a major attack by a militia aligned to the Tripoli-based, and internationally recognised government, the Presidency Council/Government of National Accord (PC/GNA).
Aircraft at the base suffered extensive damage during the attack which came as the attackers attempted to free prisoners which the Tripoli government had labelled as extremists.
Tripoli’s civilian International Airport was destroyed during intensive fighting in 2014 and only reopened sporadically for limited commercial activity in July 2017.
The North African country has struggled to function since former dictator Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown, and subsequently killed in the 2011 Arab Spring.
Swathes of the country are controlled by various militias vying for power and supporting several competing governments battling for control of the oil-rich North African country.
