An Afriqiyah Airlines Airbus was hijacked today. A flight from Sebha, in the southern Libyan desert, to Tripoli, was instead diverted to Malta, with all of the 115 passengers and crew on board released safely. The hijackers, purportedly part of a group wishing to return Gaddafi's clan (or ideology) to power, also requested visas to Europe (likely because they KNOW if returned to Libya... their chances of longtime survival aren't the best).
Some Libyans are asking on Twitter-- "what will this mean for future flights/destinations" to and from Libya?
Namely: the international community will DEMAND that security be tightened at ALL Libyan airports. It will probably have to take on some role like the TSA has in the United States. The TSA isn't perfect, far from it. But they serve their purpose in keeping US airports and travellers to and from the US safe.
There will have to be active screening of passengers and baggage and active security personnel at Libyan airports. We're not talking the various militias which control this swath of the country or that one, or hold the territory around the airports themselves. We're talking national security forces with localized deployment at the airport.
That can't happen before Libya has a national, FORMAL army somewhat like what existed under Gaddafi. Army, air force, navy, marines... the whole nine yards. The militias have their purpose, and serve to unite swaths of the country. The United States has the National Guard of each state; I don't see why the militias cannot be utilized and developed into a similar entity or entities.
This also won't happen without SIGNIFICANT cooperation of the international community. Airlines with ties to the International Air Transport Association (which is damn near all of them) and other Arab Air Carriers Organization members will certainly play a role, as will industry experts.
Along with expanding destinations in Libya, as well as routes in Libya to elsewhere in the world, is expanding tourism. Sites on the UNESCO list, sites with infamous historical ties (it's macabre, but "Gaddafi's Last Journey, from the sewage pipe where he was found, to the meat cooler where his body lay for days" is one such idea... and before I get accused of anything, there's plenty of these sorts of tours in metro Los Angeles), and anything which represents Libya to the world, MUST BE shamelessly promoted. This takes Libyans on social media, expressing the beauty of their country to the world. It means Libyans sharing Libya with the world, whether that's the bad (power outages), the good (food, said UNESCO sites), or the ugly (terrorist groups like ISIS controlling major cities and regions).
The world hasn't known Libya, Libya hasn't known the world. Both are due for a reintroduction to each other.
Some Libyans are asking on Twitter-- "what will this mean for future flights/destinations" to and from Libya?
Namely: the international community will DEMAND that security be tightened at ALL Libyan airports. It will probably have to take on some role like the TSA has in the United States. The TSA isn't perfect, far from it. But they serve their purpose in keeping US airports and travellers to and from the US safe.
There will have to be active screening of passengers and baggage and active security personnel at Libyan airports. We're not talking the various militias which control this swath of the country or that one, or hold the territory around the airports themselves. We're talking national security forces with localized deployment at the airport.
That can't happen before Libya has a national, FORMAL army somewhat like what existed under Gaddafi. Army, air force, navy, marines... the whole nine yards. The militias have their purpose, and serve to unite swaths of the country. The United States has the National Guard of each state; I don't see why the militias cannot be utilized and developed into a similar entity or entities.
This also won't happen without SIGNIFICANT cooperation of the international community. Airlines with ties to the International Air Transport Association (which is damn near all of them) and other Arab Air Carriers Organization members will certainly play a role, as will industry experts.
Along with expanding destinations in Libya, as well as routes in Libya to elsewhere in the world, is expanding tourism. Sites on the UNESCO list, sites with infamous historical ties (it's macabre, but "Gaddafi's Last Journey, from the sewage pipe where he was found, to the meat cooler where his body lay for days" is one such idea... and before I get accused of anything, there's plenty of these sorts of tours in metro Los Angeles), and anything which represents Libya to the world, MUST BE shamelessly promoted. This takes Libyans on social media, expressing the beauty of their country to the world. It means Libyans sharing Libya with the world, whether that's the bad (power outages), the good (food, said UNESCO sites), or the ugly (terrorist groups like ISIS controlling major cities and regions).
The world hasn't known Libya, Libya hasn't known the world. Both are due for a reintroduction to each other.
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