Libyan Airlines (LN, Tripoli Mitiga) management has threatened to halt all operations unless chief executive Fathi Al-Shatti is returned by a band of unknown kidnappers.

Al-Shatti was violently abducted from his car on Thursday last week by a group of armed gunmen while heading home from Tripoli Mitiga along Airport Road.

Libyan Airlines subsequently issued a statement on Saturday, October 22 blaming Libya's security apparatus for the incident. It said that kidnapping and extortion had become so endemic in Libya that it could lead to the full-on collapse of the country's aviation sector.

As such, Libyan Airlines outlined a plan, which has full union and staff approval, to gradually bring its services to a stand-still by this weekend unless Al-Shatti is released.