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By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans
The Libyan Civil War has had a devastating impact on the country's civilian aviation sector, and its two giant An-124 cargo aircraft have not eluded their fair share of suffering. Libya's aviation industry came to a near standstill during the 2011 revolution, and even after the cessation of hostilities it took Libyan airline companies anywhere from months up to a year to restart their operations, while some never flew again. Those that did in doing so expressed their renewed confidence for the future, but insecurity and political turmoil in the wake of the civil war ultimately brought an end to any optimism, and soon the Libyan aviation industry was fighting for its very survival.
As the civil war ravaging Libya continued with no
prospect of relative stability in sight, the threat of extinction loomed large over the An-124s. At a time when the single aircraft that was still present in Libya was dodging artillery fire left and right, the other An-124
was facing
the possibility of being auctioned off by Ukraine in 2017 if the Libyan government failed to pay
the $1.2 million it owed to Antonov for storage and routine maintenance
of the aircraft since 2009 at the Antonov facility in Kiev.
