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Libya buys Airbus planes
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October 8, 1999: 7:25 a.m. ET
Airline orders 24 planes as lifting of sanctions clears path for deals
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Jamahiriya Libyan Arab Airlines announced an order for 24 Airbus Industrie aircraft Friday in the first major deal conducted since sanctions against the North African state were lifted earlier this year.
Airbus -- a consortium of four European aerospace companies including British Aerospace, Aérospatiale-Matra and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace -- did not put a value on the order but said it would include single-aisle and widebody aircraft.
The state-owned airline's fleet has deteriorated since the United Nations slapped a ban on all international flights in 1988 in the wake of Libya's alleged involvement in the terrorist bombing of a Pan Am aircraft over Scotland.
The sanctions also prevented the carrier from renewing its 28-aircraft fleet, which includes nine Boeing 727s.
International sanctions were lifted after Libya agreed to hand over two suspects in the Pan Am bombing for trial in the Netherlands.
The new aircraft will allow Libyan Airlines to restart international flights. Analysts said there was pent-up demand for flights, notably from oil executives seeking to boost investment in the country's huge oil reserves. The six-city domestic network could also be expanded: Libya's land mass is equivalent to half that of India's, noted one observer.
Italy's Eni secured a deal in July to develop a 1.8 billion barrel oil and gas field in Libya and construct an undersea pipeline linking the field to Sicily.
British Aerospace is believed to be close to securing a contract to upgrade Libya's airports and air traffic control system. 
-- from staff and wire reports
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