Tuesday 1 May 2012

Libyan Airlines fights back


Full article in JPG format

Of all the images broadcast during the Libyan uprising, few encapsulated the chaos of war more than the charred tailfin of an Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A300 – caught in the crossfire as rebel fighters descended on Tripoli International Airport.

Alongside the grave humanitarian toll of the eight-month conflict, Libya's fledgling civil aviation infrastructure was razed almost beyond recognition.

Just two of Afriqiyah's aircraft emerged from the war unscathed, and sister flag carrier Libyan Airlines fared no better at escaping the carnage. The older state-owned airline lost one A300 and one Bombardier CRJ900, in addition to suffering gunfire and mortar damage on its remaining seven CRJs and four Airbus A320s...