Bmi is to start a daily service from Heathrow to the Libyan capital Tripoli on December 1.
British Airways has been the only UK carrier to serve the route (with a daily service) since 1999, although Libyan Airlines also flies twice weekly from Heathrow, while Air Afriqiyah flies daily from Gatwick.
Tickets on the new service are available from today, starting at £265 for a return ticket.
Newspaper reports have suggested the new service is a sign relations between the UK and Libya are improving. Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi is eager to improve the country's inbound tourism industry.
The North African country also has a booming oil and gas sector that is likely to attract business traffic from the UK.
The country's international reputation was left in tatters after it was held responsible for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie in Southern Scotland that killed 270 people in 1988.
There was also controversy last year when the alleged Lockerbie bomber Adbelbaset al Megrahi was released from a Scottish prison and allowed to return home on compassionate ground. Doctors said al Megrahi had only months to live because of prostate cancer. He is still alive 13 months later.
For more information visit flybmi.com.
Report by Martin Ferguson
London Heathrow-Tripoli schedule (from December 1, 2010)
BD469 Departs London Heathrow 08.55 - Arrives Tripoli 14.30
BD470 Departs Tripoli 15.15 - Arrives London Heathrow 16.45
