Air cargo operators are pulling out of the once-lucrative Libyan market as the civil war between Libya’s two rival governments and parliaments intensifies and army operations threaten sea and airports. Turkish Airlines this week suspended its cargo charter operations to Libya, citing security concerns, a week after cancelling its twice-daily passenger flights. The move followed a series of airstrikes carried out by the Libyan National Army (LNA)

Russian-Ukraine joint venture Ruslan International has said that the tense political situation between the two countries is not affecting either its services or operations. “The joint venture between Antonov Airlines and Volga-Dnepr carries on. It has been continuing without change since 2006,” Ruslan International’s business development manager Michael Goodisman told The Loadstar. “There are no issues, including for operations in and out of the US.”

Tripoli Airport is closed today, following armed clashes yesterday on the outskirts of Libya’s capital that left six people dead, 25 wounded and aircraft badly damaged. Western Libyan airspace has also been closed until Wednesday, because of restrictions to air traffic control caused by staff being unable to operate radar, the Director General of the Libyan Civil Aviation Authority (LYCAA), Captain Nasereddin Shaebelain, told The Loadstar.

Libya’s state-owned airlines, Afriqiyah Airways and Libyan Airlines, are planning to regain control of air cargo imports from foreign operators and boost the country’s aviation sector with new airfreight services.