The flight was operated by the Libyan state-owned Afriqiyah Airways, which is based in Tripoli.

A flight operated by flag carrier Libyan Airlines was also scheduled to reach Cairo International Airport but was redirected to Borg Al-Arab International Airport instead.

“Afriqiyah Airways is taking off to Cairo airport in a step that will ease the pain of travelling for my people,” Libyan Interim Prime Minister Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah said in a tweet on Thursday.

Addressing Libyans, Dbeibah promised that “there is still a lot in this file. We will not disappoint you.”

Afriqiyah Airways plans to fly nine weekly flights from Libyan airports to Cairo International Airport while adhering to preventive measures against the coronavirus, informed sources said.

This includes abiding by the Egyptian government’s policy of banning visitors from abroad from entering the country until they present a negative PCR test result 72 hours before the flight at most.

This does not include children under six years of age of all nationalities.

The Egyptian Civil Aviation Authority suspended flights between Libya and Cairo in 2014 due to the insecurity and political turbulence that was rampant in Libya in the past seven years.

The announcement to resume flights between Egypt and Libya came during Libya’s Transportation Minister Muhammad Al-Shoubi’s participation in the 11th session of the Libyan-Egyptian Joint Higher Committee earlier this month, according to the Libya Observer.