Tripoli International Airport () is a closed international airport built to serve Tripoli, the capital city of Libya. The airport is located in the area of Qasr bin Ghashir, from central Tripoli. It used to be the hub for Libyan Airlines, Afriqiyah Airways, and Buraq Air.
The airport has been closed intermittently since 2011 and as of early 2018, flights to and from Tripoli have been using Mitiga International Airport instead.
During the 2014 Libyan Civil War, the airport was heavily damaged in the Battle of Tripoli Airport. The airport reopened for limited commercial use in July 2017. In April 2019, however, it was reported that Mitiga had become the last functioning airport in Tripoli during the 2019–20 Western Libya campaign. It was soon acknowledged that the ruling Government of National Accord (GNA) had bombed the airport in an attempt to recapture it from the Libyan National Army (LNA). Mitiga was soon shut down as well after being bombed by the LNA, thus making Misrata Airport, located approximately 200 km (125 miles) to the east down the coast, the nearest functional airport for Tripoli residents.
History As Castel Benito Airport The airport was originally called Tripoli-Castel Benito Airport and was a Regia Aeronautica (Italian Air Force) airfield built in 1934 on the southern outskirts of Italian Tripoli.
In 1938 the governor of Italian Libya, Italo Balbo, enlarged the military airfield to create an international airport for civilians served by Ala Littoria, the official Italian airline: the Aeroporto di Tripoli-Castel Benito. The first international flights were to Rome, Tunis, and Malta. In 1939, a flight from Rome to Ethiopia and Somalia was one of the first intercontinental flights.
Post-war In the early hours of 23 January 1943, the Eighth Army entered Tripoli and captured Castel Benito Airport. By then, it had been destroyed from Allied aerial raids. Three days later, a Lockheed 14 G-AFKE Lothair of BOAC landed at the airport, marking the first 'post-war' landing of a civil aircraft. That year, the Royal Engineers constructed three 4,950 foot (1,509 metres) long runways, running north to south (18/36), southeast to northeast (05/23), and west-northwest to east-southeast (11/29). They were built using four inches of bitume-grouted crushed stone on six to eight inches of sand and crushed stone. In 1945, major upgrades were facilities to solve issues caused by surface disintegration and unevenness. The runways were resurfaced, 18/36 was lengthened to 7,316 ft (2,230 metres) long, and 05/23 was abandoned. In 1951, following the creation of the Libyan state, the airport's name was changed from Castel Benito to Idris el Awal (Idris 1st).
Runway 18/36 was resurfaced again in 1965, however its surface condition was already poor by the following year. Runway 11/29 was also reported to be in bad condition, as it accumulated water following rain, and some taxiways were abandoned due to their state. In the early 1960s, plans were conceived for the development of a triangular shaped terminal, although it was never built and hangar continued to serve as the terminal. Plagued with continuous issues and stalled plans, the Government launched plans to modernise the airport. In 1966, construction of a new east to west runway (09/27) commenced, though delayed by the 1969 Libyan Revolution. The revolution resulted in the airport being renamed to its present name, Tripoli. The new runway was eventually completed, measuring 11,811 ft (3,600 metres) long, and 18/36 was retained as part of the taxiway system. In September 1972, preliminary designing of a new terminal began, and a master plan was developed by Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners. It was completed by 1977 and was officially opened on 28 July 1978.
In 1983, Greek engineering consultancy JEPA S.A. developed a design plan for Gibb Petermuller & Partners. It provided an electromechanical design and a built area of 12,000 m2. Engineer John George Andrews directed the designs for the terminal buildings at the airport, while working under Gibb Petermuller & Partners.
The airport closed from March 2011 to October 2011 as a result of the United Nations Security Council establishing a no-fly zone over Libya. The Zintan Brigade captured the airport during their advance on Tripoli on 21 August 2011. The airport was officially reopened on 11 October 2011.
On 14 July 2014, the airport was the site of fierce battle as militias from the city of Misrata attempted to take control of the airport. The airport has been closed to flights since the clashes.New rocket attack on Tripoli airport BBC News. 15 July 2014. On 23 August 2014, after 40 days of clashes, Zintan forces, which controlled the airport, withdrew. The Los Angeles Times reported that at least 90% of the airport's facilities and 20 airplanes were destroyed in the fighting.
While still under the control of Misrata militias, the VIP terminal, which had not been not as badly damaged, was reopened on 16 February 2017. A new passenger terminal is in planning by the political body representing the militias.
In April 2019, the airport was captured by forces loyal to the Libyan National Army (LNA) and its leader Khalifa Haftar and was held for over a year, despite the control of the airport passing back to the GNA briefly in May 2019. Due to its location at the southern border of the Tripoli Metropolitan Area, it served as a part of the larger suburban stronghold of Qasr bin Ghashir village south of Tripoli City, used as a staging ground in attacks attempting to capture or weaken GNA's hold of the capital. As a result of ongoing clashes, it was acknowledged that the open terrain was subject to retaliatory and preliminary bombing by the GNA from Tripoli frontier, making it unusable as an airport.
The airport, along with the village of Qasr bin Ghashir, was retaken in June 2020 by the GNA as part of its 2020 offensive to push back the LNA and end the siege of the capital city. The taking of the airport signified that the GNA had regained control of the entire city and metropolitan area of Tripoli.Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine:
Reconstruction efforts In June 2020, the Tripoli-based government formally recommitted itself to completing airport projects, including the passenger terminal project at Tripoli International Airport. In July, the Airports Authority, Transportation Projects Execution Authority, Civil Aviation Authority and National Meteorological Center established a working group to manage and prioritise rehabilitation projects. This involved dividing them into implementation stages and prepare the required construction and maintenance work using assessment. It was based off field inspections of the airport conditions and damage extent. In September 2020, the site was inspected, and it was assessed that projects involving facilities that suffered more than 90% damage were to be prepared under a new development programme. In May 2021, the Airports Authority announced that surveying and the clearing of unexplored ordnance would precede reconstruction. Military engineers were tasked with the clearing after which the Transport Ministry could authorise contractors to return to the site. In August 2021, the Ministry of Transport discussed a proposal from the Al-Bairaq Company for supplementary works to the passenger terminal project. By November, arrangements were discussed for Turkish companies to return and resume work on the airport.
In April 2022, Transport Minister Mohamed al-Shahoubi met with Italian representatives for restarting the terminal contract, with both parties agreeing to begin the handover of the site. The project, stalled since 2011, involved two terminals for domestic and international and associated facilities, having a reported value of approximately €80 million. In October 2022, the Interior Ministry held a meeting concerning security for reconstruction works carried out by the Italian Aeneas consortium. In February 2023, the Italian Aeneas consortium began construction at Tripoli International Airport under a contract valued €78 million, covering two passenger terminals. The projected construction period was approximately 10-15 months. The planned terminal complex was to encompass 30,000m2 in total with an initial annual capacity of 6 to 6.5 million passengers. In May, the Italian ambassador inspected the construction site and described the progress as encouraging.
In June 2024, al-Shahoubi met with Italian ambassador and Aeneas representatives to review problems and difficulties affecting the implementation, delaying progress. The minister expressed concern about delays and instructed the consortium to accelerate the work. In September, another inspection found that additional infrastructure was still required. In August, the contract with Aeneas consortium was revoked for the construction of the terminal due to their delay in delivering the construction amidst funding issues. On 18 September, Transport Ministry undersecretary Wissam al-Idrissi announced that the contract was cancelled, citing their alleged failure to comply with its obligations. On 14 October, president of Aeneas, Elio Franci remarked that the project had been blocked and experienced irregularities in payments, withheld amounts and the absence of expected financing. In November 2024, construction work on the metal framing for terminals T1 and T2 were reported as being 73.53% advanced. The total value for the metal structure was €894,359.86 alone. In July 2025, the Airports Authority contracted the OZMEN Group to complete the passenger terminal. In June 2026, the Libyan Customs Authority began preparing personnel, equipment, logistics and procedures required to operate the customs facility at the airport once it entered service.
Preparation and opening On 25 May 2026, the Airports Authority held the first meeting of a joint committee established under Transport Ministry Decision No. 353 of 2026. The meeting was to test the readiness of the airport's systems and equipment for operation and to supervise the transition to the new airport. The committee includes representatives from the Airports Authority, Civil Aviation Authority, National Meteorological Centre, Libyan Ground Services Company, Transport Projects Implementation Agency, and Libyan Internal Investment and Development Fund. On 23 September, Transport Minister Mohamed al-Shahoubi inaugurated a new Air Traffic Management Centre adjacent to the airport. Live communications with aircraft in the Libyan airspace were tested, including traffic around Kufra and the Egyptian border. On 25 September 2026, the Ministry of Transport held a meeting involving the Libyan Internal Investment and Development Fund and airlines operating in Libya to discuss the technical and operational requirements for the airport's reopening. Tripoli International Airport is scheduled to open during the four quarter of 2026.
Facilities
Terminals Prior to its destruction, Tripoli International Airport had one main passenger terminal that served international and domestic departures and arrivals. The terminal hall was a five-story building with an area of , and was capable of handling three million passengers annually. Check-in facilities were all located on the ground floor. The departure gates were located on the floor above as was the duty-free section. Beside this was a prayer room and a first-class lounge which served business class and above on almost all airlines operating from the airport. According to satellite imagery dated July 2017, the entire passenger terminal is completely demolished, however the jet ways can still be seen sitting in the position relative to their formal gates.