Two Libyan airlines today denied persistent reports that the airspace over Tripoli could be shut down today.

The Libyan state-owned Afriqiyah Airways said in a statement said that Libyan airspace would remain open and flights would continue in and out of Libya to various destinations, except to Europe, until further notice, according to the Libya Herald.

Buraq Air also made a similar announcement posting its flight schedule.
The area controlled by Libya is split in two sectors; the east, which is overseen from Benghazi, and the West, managed from Tripoli.

There had been widespread reports that the Western airspace could be shut down imminently. Libyan sources also told Times of Malta there was a clear possibility that this could happen though the authorities were trying to hold out until next week.

The escalation of violence in the past two weeks and the attack on Tripoli airport, in which most of the infrastructure was pulverized, put the air traffic management in crisis, raising the question on how long Libyan air traffic control will be able to hold out.

Flights have been leaving daily from the military Mitiga airport but they have been handled on a “case by case” basis. One source said; “nobody is being clear. We don’t even know where the airspace is being managed from, it could be something ridiculous like someone’s flat in Tripoli”.

Should this limited trickle be restricted, it would make evacuations even more difficult.