Air traffic at Mitiga Airport, the only functioning airport in Tripoli, Libya, has been disrupted following a missile attack on the facility on Sunday.
In a post on the airport authorities’ Facebook page, officials said that three Afriqiyah Airways employees were injured and an Airbus A320 belonging to Afriqiyah Airways was damaged in the missile attack.
However, reports said that there was no immediate comment from the carrier.
Mitiga International Airport is located about 8km east of Tripoli’s city centre.
Following the attack on Sunday, Mitiga’s air space was shut down and an airplane was redirected to Misrata International Airport, which serves the Mediterranean coastal city of Misrata in Libya.
The missile attack was aimed at the far side of the airport complex near the maintenance hangar adjacent to the coastal road.
Officials said that it was the first time the area had been targeted.
According to reports, operations at the airport resumed a few hours after the attack and carrier companies began receiving passengers to complete their re-scheduled flights for the day.
Tripoli has been under attack for three months by the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Khalifa Haftar.
The Khalifa Hafter-aligned forces have accused forces aligned with the recognised Faiez Serraj Government of National Accord of using Mitiga Airport to launch military piloted / unpiloted aircraft as part of their military campaign.
Khalifa Hafter, his LNA, and their aligned forces launched a military attack on Tripoli in April this year, reportedly to liberate the capital from terrorists and militias.
Even though reports said that no party has claimed responsibility for the attack on Sunday, Tripoli authorities attributed the airstrike on Mitiga Airport to the Khalifa Hafter forces.
