Tripoli airport hit by missiles

Tripoli airport shut after missile hits main runway, flights diverted to Mitiga military airport

Passangers were forced to go home following the attack
Passangers were forced to go home following the attack
Pictures of the alleged missile attack at the Tripoli airport emerged on Facebook
Pictures of the alleged missile attack at the Tripoli airport emerged on Facebook

This morning, the Tripoli airport was shut down and flights diverted to Mitiga military airport after missiles were said to have been fired at the main runway, reports said.

Air Malta cancelled its flight to Tripoli, an airline spokesperson told MaltaToday. However, contrary to the reports emerging from Libya, Mitiga airport is also closed and Air Malta decided to cancel its flight.

Libyan news portal, Libya Herald reported that the attack happened while an Afriqiya flight was taking off, but there has been no confirmation of this or of claims that a missile was also fired towards the control tower.

Pictures of two holes at the end of the runway appeared on social media sites, with sources saying that they were caused by explosives.

Reports say that the airport would reopen in the afternoon, using the old north-south runway, while maintenance works take place on the damaged runway.

A number of airlines have cancelled today’s fights, including Tunis Air, Royal Jordanian, Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa. Other flights are being rescheduled.

Following the 2011 uprising which brought to an end Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year reign, the Zintan militias took control of the Libya airport and surrounding areas.

Earlier this month, the Zintan militias were accused of letting former Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan leave the country after losing a vote of confidence in the Libyan parliament.

Rival militias threatened to attack the airport and wrest the strategic site out of the Zintan militias’ control.

Since the 2011 ouster of Gadhafi, Libya has been divided along tribal, regional and political lines, with hardline Islamists opposed to more liberal figures such as Zeidan.

The country has no effective army or police and its Tripoli-based government risks running out of money because of rebel activities.

Libya's parliament removed Zeidan after rebels holding three key ports in eastern Libya disobeyed government orders and let shipments be handled by the state-run National Oil Corporation.

Following the vote, Zeidan flew to Germany on a Maltese private jet after stopping for a couple of hours in Malta, where he held a brief meeting with prime minister Joseph Muscat.