KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 (Bernama) -- The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) C-130 aircraft has been given permission to land at Tripoli International Airport in Libya Thursday night to take 190 Malaysians out of the conflict-stricken country.
National Security Council secretary Datuk Mohamed Thajudeen Abdul Wahab said the aircraft, which is currently in Rome, Italy, would depart at 3pm local time (9.30pm Malaysian time) and was expected to arrive in Tripoli at 5.30pm local time (midnight Malaysian time).
The aircraft would only make one trip to take Malaysians trapped in Libya to Rome, he told Bernama here Thursday.
He said the Malaysians concerned would later be flown home from Italy.
Mohamed Thajudden said the government would not use any chartered aircraft from Europe to evacuate Malaysians in Libya as announced before.
The plan to charter an aircraft from Europe was made because the Libyan government had initially refused to allow in military planes.
Libya is seeing an uprising by the people who demonstrate against their leader Muammar Gaddafi, demanding that he step down.
-- BERNAMA