An EgyptAir plane has landed at the Mitiga Airport in the Libyan capital Tripoli, after an 8-year hiatus. A special reception ceremony was held for the Egyptian plane, where firefight vehicles sprayed water on the plane, in a tradition known as the "water salute", which welcomes the plane and its passengers. EgyptAir has started operating private flights from Sharm El-Sheikh to Mitiga, as part of the Ministry of Civil Aviation's strategy to activate air traffic and tourism arrivals to Egypt. Private flights between the two airports will continue until 11 October to transport tourist groups from Libya to Sharm El-Sheikh, in coordination with a tourism services company in Libya. Chairperson of EgyptAir, Amr Abo El Enein, said that it was agreed that one flight per week will be operated between the two airports. EgyptAir also resumed flights to the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi in April, after an 11-year hiatus, due to strikes in the country. Flights to Tripoli in western Libya stopped in 2014. In 2021, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly visited Tripoli, where he reopened the Egyptian embassy there, and pledged to restore direct flights between the two countries.
