Syria retrieves Air Force Il-76 from Benghazi’s Benina Airport

Syria’s defense and foreign ministries announced the retrieval of an Il-76 transport aircraft belonging to the Syrian Air Force that had been at Benghazi’s Benina International Airport, in coordination with authorities in eastern Libya. Damascus thanked Lieutenant General Saddam Haftar for his cooperation.

Syria’s defense and foreign ministries announced on Thursday that they had retrieved a Syrian Air Force Ilyushin aircraft that had been at Benina International Airport in Benghazi, eastern Libya, following coordination with authorities in eastern Libya.

The Defense Ministry told the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) that the handover resulted from efforts by the Air Force command, in coordination with the Foreign Ministry and the relevant Libyan authorities. Official photographs published by the agency showed an Il-76 military transport aircraft bearing the registration code YK-ATD on a runway in Damascus.

The Syrian Il-76 aircraft landing after returning from Benghazi

Thanks to Saddam Haftar

The Foreign Ministry thanked Lieutenant General Saddam Khalifa Haftar, deputy commander-in-chief of the Libyan Arab Armed Forces, as well as the Benina Airport administration and the relevant Libyan authorities. It said the aircraft’s retrieval “resulted from close coordination and continuous follow-up with the Air Force command at the Defense Ministry.” It added that the step “reflects the depth of the fraternal relations between the two countries and their brotherly peoples.”

The two ministries did not mention why the aircraft had been in Benghazi or how long it had remained there. However, the open-source investigations platform Eekad reported in August that the YK-ATD aircraft had taken off from Damascus for Benghazi on December 4, 2024, four days before the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government, and later operated domestic flights in eastern Libya, including flights to Sabha.

Two ground crew members guide an Il-76 aircraft on the runway

Eekad said it had tracked an aircraft arriving from Benghazi as it approached Damascus at 2:08 p.m. local time and believed it was the same aircraft. Syrian affairs researcher Charles Lister said it had landed at Damascus International Airport.

Rapprochement between Damascus and eastern Libya

The move comes as Syria’s new government seeks to build working relations with authorities in eastern Libya. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met Saddam Haftar in Benghazi on October 11, according to Anadolu, and discussed joint security issues, a plan to open a Syrian consulate in the city, and the issue of Syrians missing in Libya.

Photos: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)

Syria retrieves Air Force Il-76 from Benghazi’s Benina Airport