French airline carrier Aigle Azur is to start biweekly passenger flights between Paris and the Libyan capital of Tripoli in March, the company's president Arezki Idjerouidene told Reuters on Sunday. "We have been working on opening this route since 2009," Idjerouidene said, adding that flights will start on March 27th.
Idjerouidene said he had submitted a formal request for air traffic rights to the Libyan civil aviation authority, who had agreed, and was now waiting for written confirmation.
Aigle Anzur operates domestic flights in France and international services to North Africa. Idjerouidene was part of a French business delegation to Libya fronted by France's secretary of state for transport Thierry Mariani who said he was there to renew existing business contracts.
"France has a historical connection with Libya. Before the revolution, French companies were working on the construction and maintenance of three airports in Libya: Tripoli, Benghazi and Saba," he told Reuters.
"We want to continue our involvement," he added.
Libya is reeling from a year of civil war that toppled and killed long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Since the revolution, the interim government has decided to reassess all foreign business contracts.