Traveling to Benghazi

Traveling to other cities inside Libya can be done in one of two ways, either by car or by plane. We decided to fly because of the distance (just under 1,000 km), but getting through the Tripoli Airport can be a challenge. To begin with, the parking area is a random mass of vehicles, and the lines on the pavement appear to serve no practical function. Fortunately, there is a lot of communication and cooperation as people shuffle vehicles in and out. It’s kind of like working on a Rubic’s cube where you slide individual pieces in and out of place to put them in order.

Once inside the building, we waited awhile for the sign for our flight to light up for boarding passes, and when that didn’t happen, Sherri went to the airline office. There were 3 men inside, smoking, and they assured her that the flight was on time. Half an hour later – it was now only an hour before the flight – there was still no information on the board about the flight. Sherri went back to the office where the man who appeared to be in charge said that the flight had been canceled. However, we could take the next one, about 3 hours later. Sherri called our company travel guy who speaks Arabic and got confirmation from him that indeed, the flight had been canceled without notice. The guy at the desk refused to provide anything in writing that showed we really would be allowed on the next flight, but gave several assurances that “It will be fine, Madame.” Given the circumstances, we elected to stay at the airport and wait. And wait. Finally, the board lit up with the right destination and flight number, but it was for Afriqiyyih, not Libyan Airlines. We went to the counter and asked to be seated on the flight. They said that we would have to be on standby because this was a different airline. Never mind that the same guys were working behind the counter, or that both airlines are owned by the Libyan government, or that we had been told we could get on that flight without any problem. Sherri protested exuberantly, called the Arabic travel agent again, and finally, we were given boarding passes.

While we were trying to figure out where to go next (never having flown OUT of this airport), we met some interesting young guys who spoke English, and we made our way to the gate and an uneventful flight. The folks in Benghazi met us as agreed, and all proceeded smoothly from that point on.

Note: At this airport, all the signs and announcements are in Arabic, and the electronic announcement boards containing flight information may not be operative. It is a common occurrence for air carrier personnel to give out differing information on a regular basis. If you are a foreign traveler, be prepared to take the initiative when visiting the Tripoli Airport.  And no, we can't take pictures of airports here.