Hussein Dabbas said flights to the capital Tripoli may resume later this month, once aviation safety is ensured and the airport there can accommodate flights.
Dabbas said the decision to resume flights to Benghazi was prompted by a “strong demand” for travel there. Benghazi was the command post of Libya’s rebels before they took control of Tripoli last month.
RJ used to operate five weekly flights to Tripoli and two to Benghazi.
Around 15,000 Jordanian professionals, mainly doctors, engineers and teachers, work in Libya.
Jordan established ties with Libya’s National Transitional Council in June.
NATO has been enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya since the start of its involvement in the fighting, but it allows humanitarian and other civilian flights.
At NATO’s operational headquarters in Naples, Italy, an officer said that several airlines have been authorized to fly to Libya.
“But this is not something permanent,” said the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity under standing rules. “NATO still enforces the no-fly zone and will decide on a case-by-case basis whether to approve each flight.”
Turkish Airlines resumed flights to Benghazi on Tuesday. A plane carrying 126 passengers landed at the Benghazi airport in the morning and returned to Istanbul, carrying 156 people, including some wounded Libyans, the state-run Anatolia news agency reported. The company suspended flights in February.
Turkish Airlines’ chairman Temel Kotil, who was on the flight, said the company will soon resume flights to Tripoli.
