By Iyad Nabolsi
ISTANBUL (AA) - Direct flights between Rome and Tripoli resumed on Sunday after a 10-year suspension, according to Libyan media.
An ITA Airways plane arrived at Mitiga airport east of Tripoli from Rome Fiumicino Airport, marking the resumption of direct fights between the two sides, the Libyan state news agency said.
The broadcaster said a flight by the Libyan airline Medsky also left Tripoli for the Italian capital.
According to Italian civil aviation officials, ITA Airways will soon operate direct commercial flights between Italian airports and the Libyan cities of Misrata and Benghazi.
Libyan Minister of Transport Mohamed Al-Shahoubi expressed Libya's readiness to grant ITA Airways additional traffic rights to connect Libyan airports with other destinations in the European Union.
Several international airlines suspended their flights to and from Libya due to political and security unrest in the country since the ousting of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
*Writing by Rania Abu Shamalah