International Business Aircraft Council (IBAC) director Peter Ingleton posted IBAC Bulletin #15 on January 16 to clarify a letter sent by ICAO secretary general Raymond Benjamin about hostile airspace issues in the Tripoli flight information region (FIR). The ICAO letter, published January 15, warned operators to exercise extreme caution in and around Libya because all airports—except for El Beida—are closed to international traffic.
The ICAO letter also highlighted the unreliability of Libya’s Notam system. “The United States authorities have advised on developments that call into question the safety of operations in the central and western part of the Tripoli FIR, including Zwara and Zentan, but also on those ATS routes in the Tripoli FIR, north of the Libyan coastline,” Benjamin said. “ICAO has also been informed about threats published on the Web that civilian or military aircraft from one state that might enter Libyan airspace will be shot down.”
ICAO did not, however, identify the threatened country. IBAC’s Ingelton said, “In addition to Tripoli FIR, other airspace affected by conflict includes Ukraine, Crimea and Syria. These airspaces have also been the subject of recent warnings and/or restrictions. While some make reference only to commercial operations, it is the view of [IBAC] that non-commercial operators would be well advised to be guided by the same warnings and comply with the restrictions promulgated.”