Dubai-based Emirates airline has resumed passenger flights to Tripoli in Libya. The airline now offers three flights a week from Dubai to Tripoli with a stop at Malta. The first flight took off from Dubai International airport this week.

Emirates cancelled its routes to Libya in February 2011. In June 2012, it reopened its office in Tripoli, which allows customers to book travel on Emirates’ services outside the country. The airline first announced the return of passenger flights in May.

A freighter service offered by Emirates’ freight division SkyCargo began in May 2012. The new passenger flights have helped increase the capacity of cargo it can carry to Libya to more than 100 tonnes a week.