With an aim to position itself and capitalize on the eventual recovery of air travel in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, Tunisair yesterday, May 17, 2021, re-established its services to Libya with the airline looking to lay some groundwork for a travel re-bound which may take months if not years.
The Tunisian state-owned carrier will fly to Mitiga International airport located in Libya’s capital Tripoli and will offer daily flights from its hub, Carthage International Airport. The airline will also fly further East of Libya to Benghazi’s Benina international airport offering 3x weekly flights with the airline hoping to increase these frequencies during the coming months.
Postponement and Emerging markets
This new service which was first announced towards the end of last year and has faced several postponements because of prohibitive tariffs from insurance companies who considered Libya as a war zone. Tunisiair also postponed the route last month because of the surge in coronavirus cases.
As new paths for growth are becoming vital for the national flag-carrier, market adaptation remains key for its survival even as Tunisiair’s main business operation is dominated by services to and from Europe. The airline has also not flown to Libya since 2014 and will be the first non-Libyan airline to offer its services to Libyan Airports.
Financial Difficulty
Since the onset of the pandemic a year ago, the airline recorded 70 percent drop in revenue while its passenger activities fell 80 percent.Tunisia’s Transport and logistics minister MoezChakchouk admitted in February this year the airline is in ‘great financial difficulty’. “Tunisair is in great financial difficulty and we are unable to pay salaries or to honor our commitments to suppliers.”
According to Chakchouk, the airline’s restructuring plan that involved agreement with the Tunisian general labor union had not been implemented hence a major cause of the company’s woes.
Moreover, in February this year, TAV Tunisie the subsidiary of TAV Airports – a Turkish company that manages Tunisian Airports of Enfidha-Hammamet and Monastir Habib Bourguiba announced the seizure of $9.65 million from Tunisair, to partially cover a $24 million debt from 2015
By Victor Shalton Odhiambo
