LIBERTY AIR: United States (1984). Liberty Air is set up at Fairbanks in August 1984 by former executives of Sunair and Markair through the purchase and merger of Air North (Yukon Air Service) and Valdez Airlines. Even before the combined fleet comprising aircraft from the two acquisitions can be painted, the new entrant goes bankrupt in September.
LIBERTY AIRLINES: United States (1982-1983). Organized by Thomas Wiles at Toledo, Ohio, during the first week of January 1982, this third-level carrier opens daily roundtrip scheduled passenger and cargo services to Chicago (MDW) on January 18 with a pair of Convair CV-440s and a Beech B-58 Baron. Later, in August, flights are inaugurated to Akron and Canton and to Philadelphia.
Recession and start-up costs force the suspension of scheduled flights in May 1983. Various unimplemented plans are made to resume operations in 1984, including the start-up of services from Newark to Bedford, Massachusetts, or relocation to Puerto Rico and the initiation Caribbean services.
LIBERTY EXPRESS: United States (1994-1997). The Falls Creek, Pennsylvania-based “USAir Express” partner Crown Airways is purchased at the end of 1993 by megaregional Mesa Airlines. Early in 1994, the subsidiary is reformed as a Mesa Air Group division and begins offering “USAir Express” service from Pittsburgh with a fleet of 8 Beech 1900Cs and 4 Shorts 360-200s.
Enplanements for the year total 76,771.
The fleet is rationalized in 1995 to include 13 Beech 1900Cs. Traffic figures are now reported with those of Mesa Air Group.
Operations continue apace in 1996. A Beech 1900D with 2 crew and 14 passengers makes such a hard landing at Bradford Airport, Pennsylvania, on February 7 that it bounces up and off the runway to the left, skidding 1,148 ft. before stopping; although the aircraft is badly damaged, there are no fatalities.
During the first week of January 1997, Mesa Air Group is again reorganized. The operating divisions Desert Sun, Florida Gulf, Liberty Express, and Mountain West are replaced by four new units: America West Express, Independent, United Express, and USAir Express. Also merged into the new divisions are the marketing and customer service departments of Air Midwest and WestAir Commuter Airlines. Liberty Express will be merged into the USAir Express section.
On February 27, USAir is renamed USAirways and “USAir Express” becomes “USAirways Express.” During the remainder of the year, this regional will repaint its aircraft in a modified version of the major’s new grey and dark blue livery.
LIBERTY HELICOPTERS: P. O. Box 1338, Linden Municipal Airport, Linden, New Jersey 07036, United States; Phone (908) 4749700; Fax (908) 474-0488; Http://www. libertyhelicopters. com; Year Founded 1985. Liberty is set up at Linden, New Jersey, during the first quarter of 1985. Executive and small group passenger charters in the New York City area begin on April 10. In addition to airport transfers, the carrier also makes courier flights and provides sling-load services.
Originating from the VIP Heliport, the company begins sight-seeing tours of “The Big Apple” on September 6, 1990. Growth, brought about by an aggressive marketing plan aimed at both domestic and international customers, allows the company to open a second location, at the Downtown Manhattan Heliport, in 1995. By the end of the decade, Liberty enjoys annual revenues of $12 million.
In 2000, President Patrick Day oversees a workforce of 45 and a fleet that now includes 8 Eurocopter AS-350B A-Stars plus 1 each AS-355F TwinStar, SA-365N Dauphin, and Bell 206L LongRanger.
LIBYAN AIRWAYS: Libya (1952-1953). Tripoli travel agency owner Sayyed Mohammed Senussi Giaber joins with the British independent airline Silver City Airways, Ltd. to form this carrier in 1952. The U. K. operator provides 2 wet-leased Bristol 170 Freighters, which are employed to operate nonscheduled all-cargo services to Benghazi and Kufra.
Weekly scheduled roundtrip Bristol services are initiated between Tripoli and Benghazi in January 1953. Unable to maintain its viability against intense competition from regional carriers, the company shuts its doors before year’s end.
LIBYAN ARAB AIRLINES: Libya (1969-1990): Following a coup against King Idris led by Col. Muammar Qaddafi in August 1969, the new government changes the corporate identity of Kingdom of Libya Airlines to LAA on September 1.
During the fourth quarter, $14 million worth of orders are placed for two Boeing 727-200s. Enplanements for the year, under both names, total 201,620.
The fleet in 1970 includes 3 Sud Est SE-210 Caravelle VIRs, 2 Fokker F.27-100s, 1 Douglas DC-3, and 1 Gates Learjet 23. International destinations visited include Rome, Geneva, Paris, London, Malta, Athens, Beirut, and Cairo, while domestic points served are Al Bayda, Benghazi, Djerba, Ghadames, Marsa El Brega, Sabhah, and Tubruq.
Passenger boardings drop 6% to 190,208 while cargo traffic is off 13.5%.
Airline employment is increased 25% in 1971 to 1,113. The fleet now comprises 3 Sud-Est SE-210 Caravelle VIRs, 2 newly delivered B-727-2L5s, and 2 Fokker F.27-200s.
A total of 207,100 passengers are carried.
Freight accelerates 29% in 1972 while passenger boardings jump 27% to 370,000.
Airline employment in 1973 stands at 1,436. Service is inaugurated to Geneva and Misurta.
En route from Tripoli via Benghazi to Cairo on February 21, Flight 114, a B-727-2L5 with 8 crew and 103 passengers, strays over the northern tip of Great Bitter Lake in the Israeli-occupied Sinai Peninsula. The jetliner is intercepted at 5,000 ft. by two Israeli Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-4E Phantom II fighters, which attempt to force the aircraft to land. After the Boeing allegedly ignores the warnings to divert and raises its undercarriage, which had been lowered. The Phantoms interpret this as an effort to escape and open fire on the Boeing.
Severely damaged, Flight 114 attempts an emergency belly landing, but crashes in the desert 15 km. E of the Suez Canal. The copilot and four passengers survive. Defence Minister Moshe Dayan offers the Israeli government’s public regret over the tragedy and to show it, announces plans to compensate the families of the victims.
A B-727-2D6A is wet-leased from Air Algerie, S. A. for a replacement, as orders are placed for two B-727-2L5As that will enter service in 1974; the Boeing will have Air France crews. Scheduled flights begin between Tripoli and Misurata.
Passenger bookings for the year climb 11% to 408,000, but cargo traffic is off by 13.3%.
The Algerian trijet is retained in 1974, but the two new Boeings are delayed. Plans to withdraw the Caravelles are shelved Orders are placed for six more F.27-200s, which will support the energy industry. Later in the year, the Air France crews operating the Air Algerie, S. A. B-727 go on strike; with job actions illegal in Libya, the French are ordered out of the country and crews are provided by Royal Air Maroc, S. A.
During the year, cargo accelerates 22.5% and boardings soar 15.9% to 408,000.
The workforce in 1975 totals 1,725. New and enlarged training programs are launched as the company is given exclusive rights under January’s Law No. 5 to operate all airline services within the country. The law will force small competitors to merge or fail. Six new F.27-600s are delivered and are placed on domestic routes. The B-727-2L5As are delivered at the end of the year.
Passenger boardings are up 37% to 558,000 while freight climbs 28%.
One B-720-023B, leased from Middle East Airlines, S. A.L. (2), and three more B-727-2L5As are delivered in 1976, as airline employment grows to 2,300 and the carrier is reorganized into a public corporation.
On July 6, twenty-year-old Libyan Mustafa Hadlumagid hijacks a B-727-2L5A carrying 98 passengers en route from Tripoli to Benghazi and orders it flown to Tunisia. When landing permission at Tunis is denied, the aircraft is directed to Palma de Mallorca, where the youth frees his hostages and surrenders to Spanish police.
Passenger boardings climb 19.95% to 669,909 (plus 202,813 charter travelers); freight advances by 38%.
Amin B. Marghani is named chairman in 1977 with Hasan M. Cuniali as general manager. The carrier’s three Caravelles are retired. The Boeing jetliners open new routes from Tripoli to Frankfurt, Athens, Tunis, and Casablanca and from Benghazi to Rome and London. Domestic schedules are significantly increased.
Airline employment stands at 2,500 in 1978 as Cuniali replaces Marghani as chairman. Four B-737-2L5s and four F.27-400s are placed in service. Delivery of the last two “Baby Boeings” have been held up by the U. S. government until Libya signs the Hague International Convention on Hijacking.
Enplanements total 861,031.
Badri Ali Hasan succeeds Cuniali as chairman in 1979. Service is inaugurated to Madrid, Moscow, Sofia, and Warsaw. The first five Ilyushin Il-76s freighters are delivered in LAA livery. As the remaining 38 arrive over the next 5 years, many will also be shared (complete with changed colors) with Jamahiriya Air Transport.
A request to Boeing for three B-747 Jumbojets is cancelled in May by order of the U. S. Department of State, which has determined that Libya is in violation of the Hague Convention.
En route from Benghazi to Tripoli on August 24, a B-727-2L5A with 59 passengers is hijacked by a lone gunman, who diverts it to Larnaca,
Cyprus. The pirate surrenders, requesting political asylum. Instead, he will be extradited back to Libya and reportedly executed.
An F.27-400 en route from Hon to Tripoli on October 16 is taken over by three gunmen, who order it flown to Switzerland. The Fokker flies to Malta, instead; on the ground, the pirates demand and receive permission to hold a news conference, during which they surrender.
Before the end of the year, Libyan Arab Air Cargo is formed as a wholly owned, all-cargo subsidiary.
Cargo grows 11.7% and passenger boardings grow 19.3% to pass the one million-mark for the first time (1,066,952).
Routes are opened to Karachi and Malta in 1980; orders are placed for three F.28-4000s for the fleet. Although Boeing has sought permission to complete three B-747-2L5Bs for the carrier, it is prohibited. Finished through the painting phase, the aircraft are later sold to VARIG Brazilian Airlines (Viacao Area de Rio Grandense, S. A.). Still, several older B-707 Stratoliners are acquired from the used aircraft market.
An F.27-400 is lost at Chad on March 26, 1981; there are no other details available regarding the accident.
On November 27, the carrier signs a contract to purchase 10 Airbus aircraft. The next day, a second F.27-400 is destroyed in Chad. Five F.27-500s are ordered as replacements.
Three Lebanese Muslims, who say they are seeking the return of Imam Moussa Sadr, who is imprisoned in Israel, seize a B-727-2L5A over Italy on December 7 and force it to fly to Beirut, and then to Athens. The next day the aircraft, with 38 hostages aboard, is allowed to land in Tehran and on December 9 the Boeing departs for Beirut, where the hijackers free their captives and surrender. Passenger bookings for the year total 1.48 million.
The U. S. Department of State orders the Airbus order cancelled in early 1982 because the European consortium aircraft employ significant numbers of American components. The Libyans propose the acquisition of $597.5 million worth of Boeing airliners and, although the manufacturer again seeks an export license, the DOS again blocks the sale.
Enplanements grow steadily this year, reaching 1,550,000.
Libyan army lieutenants At-Tawali and Mansur Al-Mahdi hijack a B-727-2L5A en route from Sabha to Tripoli with 158 passengers aboard, on February 20, 1983 and force it to land at the airport at Valletta, Malta. Refusing to refuel the airliner, Prime Minister Dom Mintoff opens negotiations from the control tower, which continue for three days. On February 23, the pirates release their captives and surrender after Mintoff promises them political asylum. Mintoff’s reprieve leads to a diplomatic dispute with Col. Muammar Qaddafi.
A B-707-338C with 5 crew crashes 30 km. N of Sabha, Libya, on March 14 and explodes; there are no survivors.
Routes are started to Milan, Damascus, Jeddah, Tunis, and Algiers and four A310-203s and six A300-600Rs are ordered from Toulouse. This new request for Airbus equipment involves a certain amount of subterfuge designed to get around the U. S. ban. The aircraft will be leased or sold to banks and other non-airline concerns. U. S. intelligence gains knowledge of the plan and the airliner acquisition must be cancelled.
En route from Tripoli to Athens on June 22, a B-727-2L5A is taken over by two armed men, who divert it to Larnaca, Cyprus, where they surrender. They will be tried and given seven-year prison sentences.
A total of 1,758,999 travelers are flown on the year.
In 1984, the Fokker F.28-4000s enter service. Bookings fall to 1,627,701. In 1985, services are offered to 17 destinations in Asia, Europe, and North Africa, as well as domestically. Passenger boardings drop 0.31% to 1,579,000.
A by-product of Mideast terrorism, the Benina military airfield (previously the U. S. Wheeler Field) becomes target for a U. S. raid on April 14, 1986. Several LAA airliners are damaged when bombs fall from 23 F-111 bombers based in England and F-14As from the carriers U. S.S. America and U. S.S. Coral Sea. The next day, an Ilyushin Il-76T freighter is involved in a landing accident at Tripoli.
An F.27-600 with 39 passengers is destroyed as the result of a bad landing at Zella on June 6; no injuries are reported.
Following a break in diplomatic relations, Libyan airliners are banned from the U. K. at the end of October. As of November 1, Libyan-U. K. air freight must be flown by charter or transshipped over from airports on the Continent. Another F.27-600 crashes at Gialo on December 31 under unknown circumstances.
Moftah Saad Al-Diew becomes chairman in 1987; the entire top management of the airline is changed and a new team is installed.
In June 1988, two former British Caledonian Airways, Ltd. (BCAL) A310-203s are acquired by devious means. As a result of U. S. diplomatic intervention, these must first be leased to Air Algerie, S. A. Initially given Algerian livery and leased to the Libyans, who provide the flight crews, the two Airbuses begin operation on Libyan routes in the early fall.
Not long after takeoff from London (LHR) as a continuation of Flight 103, the 18-year - old Pan American World Airways (1)
B-747-121 Clipper Maid of the Sea with 16 crew and 243 passengers, explodes in midair 31,000 feet over Lockerbie, Scotland. The blast immediately rips the fuselage apart and causes catastrophic structural failure; the cockpit and forward fuselage separate from the main body which, as it falls to earth, loses all four engines and suffers disintegration of the rear fuselage.
There are no survivors from the plane and an additional 11 people on the ground are killed and 5 injured when the center fuselage and wings crash into the Sherwood Crescent subdivision of Lockerbie. The debris erupts into a huge fireball that digs a giant crater, destroying at least 20 homes outright and damaging others beyond repair. Investigators will initially look to Iran, but will soon thereafter develop information that Libyan agents, perhaps connected to the national airline, are behind the atrocity.
Just after takeoff from Zella 74 on a June 6, 1989 service to Tripoli, the No. 1 engine of an F.27-600 with 3 crew and 36 passengers must be shut down. The Fokker attempts to return to its point of origin, but is unable to maintain altitude and must make a forced landing in the desert. There are no fatalities.
In 1990, the carrier is renamed Jamahiriya Libyan Arab Airlines.
LIBYAN AVIATION COMPANY, LTD.: Libya (1960-1967). LACL is formed at Benghazi on July 4, 1960 by Capt. Brian L. R. Pocock,
C. H. J. Bos, and Abdul Mejid Bujazia. Employing Douglas DC-3s and de Havilland DH 104 Doves, the company undertakes ad hoc charters in support of exploration and oil pipeline interests.
In 1961 , Pocock and Bos are bought out, but form another company, Air Bos, Ltd., which is given a contract to provide management and support services. The number of Douglas transports is increased to four, plus a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver.
In June 1962, a management and consultant services contract is signed with newly reformed Biggin Hill-based Metropolitan Air Movements, Ltd. Capt. Pocock, having become managing director of the British carrier, leases two, later five, Metropolitan Doves for use in Libya.
Charter services throughout Libya and nearby countries continues apace, although one Metropolitan Dove, leased from Keegan Aviation, is lost in a crash on February 26, 1964. Both Libyan Aviation and Metropolitan Air Movements, Ltd. cease all operations in early 1967.
World History
