Italy's flag carrier ITA Airways on Sunday announced it had launched its first commercial flight between Tripoli's Mitiga airport and Rome's Fiumicino.
Resumption of flights between the two countries after a decade "is part of a constant and concerted effort by Italian institutions and the business system, with the aim of strengthening ties with Libya, a strategic and privileged partner for our country," Italy's foreign ministry said in a statement.
Italy – Libya's biggest trading partner and the North African country's former colonial master – had announced in October that ITA flights between the two capitals would resume in December.
During a visit to Tripoli by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in October – her fourth such visit as premier – the two Mediterranean countries signed a package of development, investment and infrastructure deals aimed at boosting cooperation.
Meloni considers oil-rich Libya a key part of Italy's Mattei Plan for Africa, aimed in part at reducing irregular migration from African countries, including Libya, via investment in the continent.
Libya is struggling to recover from years of conflict after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ended dictator Muammar Gaddafi's four-decade rule.
The country remains split between the United Nations-recognised government of Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah in Tripoli and a rival authority in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar.
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