Italy has lifted a 10-year ban on Libyan civil aviation aircraft using its airspace, with flights resuming from September, the Libyan government announced today.

There are currently few airlines flying to and from Libya, which for more than a decade has suffered from chaos and war since Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni today informed her Libyan counterpart Abdulhamid al-Dbeywah that Italy is lifting a ten-year ban on flights of Libyan civil aviation aircraft in Italian airspace, the Libyan government said.

The decision was announced after a meeting between Libyan and Italian officials and after discussions held by technical teams from both sides on the results of an on-site visit carried out in May related “to the control of security procedures at Libyan airports”.

Flights from Libya abroad have long been restricted to destinations such as Tunisia, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt and Sudan, with the European Union banning Libya’s civil aviation from entering its airspace .

Libyan and Italian authorities agreed that the flights would be operated by one carrier from each country, the statement said.