Departure
94%
vs 95% ▼ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Tripoli International Airport, once the principal gateway to Libya's capital, lies at Qasr bin Ghashir some 24 kilometres south of central Tripoli. Built by the Italians in the 1930s and later used by the Royal Air Force, the airport has been closed to scheduled traffic since heavy fighting in 2014 left most of its facilities destroyed, and it remains of interest to simulator pilots chiefly as a historic and dramatic backdrop rather than a live destination.
Tripoli International Airport (ICAO: HLLT) served as the main international airport for Tripoli, Libya, for decades before being effectively closed by conflict. It was the hub for Libyan Airlines, Afriqiyah Airways and Buraq Air, and its long runways and dramatic recent history make it a compelling subject for a simulator flight, even though it is not currently operational for real-world traffic.
The airfield sits at Qasr bin Ghashir, on the southern outskirts of the Tripoli metropolitan area, about 24 kilometres from the city centre. It lies to the south of Mitiga International Airport, which since the airport's closure has become the sole functioning airport serving Tripoli.
Tripoli International has two physical runways. The main runway, 09/27, is a hard-surfaced strip 11,764 feet long, lit, with an ILS serving runway 27. The secondary runway, 18/36, is also hard-surfaced and lit, with runway 18 measuring 8,626 feet and runway 36 measuring 8,250 feet. Field elevation is 256 feet.
An instrument landing system serves runway 27. No published radio frequencies or air traffic service details are available for the field.
No published joining or circuit procedures are available for this airport, reflecting its closed operational status.
No published visual reference points are available for this airport.
The airfield began life as Tripoli-Castel Benito, an airfield of the Regia Aeronautica built in 1934 on the southern edge of Italian Tripoli. In 1938 the governor of Italian Libya, Italo Balbo, enlarged it into an international airport served by the Italian carrier Ala Littoria, with the first international flights running to Rome, Tunis and Malta; a 1939 flight from Rome to Ethiopia and Somalia was among the earliest intercontinental air services. The airport was destroyed during the Second World War, after which it was rebuilt and used by the British Royal Air Force as RAF Castel Benito, renamed RAF Idris in 1952. Through the 1950s and 1960s it operated as Tripoli Idris International Airport, and it was renovated for national and international traffic in September 1978, with its terminal designed under a masterplan by Sir Alexander Gibb and Partners. The airport closed between March and October 2011 during the UN-mandated no-fly zone over Libya, was captured by the Zintan Brigade that August, and reopened officially in October 2011. In July 2014 it became the scene of fierce fighting as Misrata-aligned militias fought to seize it from Zintan forces; the airport was closed to flights after the clashes and, by some accounts, around 90 percent of its facilities and twenty aircraft were destroyed. The lightly damaged VIP terminal reopened briefly in February 2017. The airport changed hands again in the 2019-20 Western Libya campaign, being captured by forces loyal to the Libyan National Army in April 2019 and used as a staging ground on the southern approach to the capital, before being retaken by Government of National Accord forces in June 2020, an event that marked the GNA regaining control of the whole Tripoli metropolitan area.
Tripoli International Airport has been closed since the 2014 fighting, with the bulk of its terminal infrastructure destroyed; satellite imagery shows the passenger terminal demolished, though jet bridges remain visible at their former gate positions. Mitiga International Airport has since taken over as the operating airport for Tripoli. There is no indication in available sources of any current flying training, club activity, fuel availability or civil operations at the field, and no mention of simulator scenery.
