Air Malta will restart a twice weekly service every Tuesday and Thursday as from Tuesday, 29 May, to Libya’s second largest city, Benghazi. The flights will supplement the daily service to Tripoli, the country’s capital.
The decision to operate to Benghazi was taken following a positive report received from Air Malta’s technical team that audited this airport on various aspects including flight operations, safety and security, engineering and ground and airport operations. This audit was further supplemented by official operational information received from Benghazi airport.
“Benghazi, as the principal city of eastern Libya, is one of Libya’s major economic centres. We have been looking forward to restart operations to Benghazi for the last few months. Our flights will reconnect this city not only to Malta but also to mainland Europe as they are timed to facilitate onward flight connections with other Air Malta services operating to European cities”, said Peter Davies, Air Malta’s Chief Executive Officer.
“Following the announcement of daily services to Libya’s capital, Tripoli, as from today, this is further good news for the Maltese and Libyan communities. This summer we expect to carry approximately 8,000 passengers on the Benghazi route. These will be added to the 30,000 passengers we expect to carry this summer to Tripoli”, added Davies.
Flights tickets will go on sale today and can be purchased from the airline’s portal www.airmalta.com, Air Malta’s Sales office at Malta International Airport, Air Malta’s International Call Centre, travel agents, from the Air Malta’s Tripoli town office and from its representative office in Benghazi, Mrawah Travel & Tourism.
Outgoing cargo services from Malta will also be offered on this route. The airline is in discussions to start offering incoming cargo services in the near future.
The flight schedule to and from Benghazi will operate as follows:
Tuesday / Thursday
Malta departure 4.40am; arrival Benghazi 6.05am.
Benghazi departure 7.05am; arrival Malta 8.25 am
(Source: The Malta Independent Online)