Libya's parliament-appointed government, headed by Osama Hammad, announced on Wednesday that maintenance work on the airstrip and passenger terminal at Kufra Airport was nearing completion.

Hammad's media office added in a statement that it would begin to serve passengers soon.

The statement pointed out that this work was in response to the demands of the citizens in the southern region and in order to overcome travel hardships they suffer.

This comes amid a state of controversy after the head of the Airports Authority in Libya's rival government and the Director General of Afriqiyah Airways were prevented from landing at the airport.

The officials said they were visiting Kufra to "identify the needs of the airport in terms of engineering projects and technical equipment" in a statement from the Government of National Unity.  

Hammad's government denied preventing the officials from landing, saying the statement from the Government of National Unity was "misleading".