Flights to and from Sirte airport are set to restart on 22 March after clashes forced services to be suspended earlier in the month.

Afriqiyah Airways has reached an agreement with Dublin-based Air Contractors that allows it to operate aircraft from Libya to Europe, bypassing an EU ban.

LANA reports that officials from the Sirte Local Council toured the airport to "assess damage", although there are conflicting reports about whether clashes actually took place.

All internal and international flights from Tripoli airport were suspended on 13 March due to poor weather conditions.

Abdelkader Mohamed al-Ayib has submitted his resignation to the caretaker prime minister, reports LANA.

A local company has begun maintenance work on Sirte airport’s runway, according to state news agency LANA.

The state-owned carrier is to begin new services from Tobruq, Labraq and Misrata airports to Istanbul, according to state news agency LANA.

The new privately-owned airline, which aims to start flights next month, is reportedly in the process of obtaining Sharia-compliant finance to fund its business plan.

Passenger numbers on the airline's Libya routes saw double-digit growth last month, partly thanks to the opening of new destinations.

A Benghazi-based company contracted by the local council has begun installing traffic lights at 10 junctions in Sirte.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says Libyan Airlines can restart its European services - which are run by a Tunisian carrier - after a communications problem forced flights to be suspended.

Libyan Airlines is to increase frequencies on its domestic route from Sirte to Tripoli and Benghazi.

Afriqiyah Airways is still in negotiations with Dublin-based Air Contractors over an agreement that would potentially allow it to bypass an EU ban on flights to Europe, the Libya Monitor was told.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has suspended all of the carrier's European services after a communication problem, but the airline told the Libya Monitor it hoped to restart flights "within a few hours."

Figures suggest strong growth on 2012, with Tripoli accounting for more than half of the total passenger numbers through Libya's 12 civilian airports.