The primary global industrial flight for the reason that fall of longtime dictator Bashar Assad landed Tuesday as Syria’s primary airport within the capital, Damascus, resumed complete operations.
The Qatari Airlines airplane landed at round 1 p.m. (10 a.m. GMT), marking the Gulf nation’s first industrial flight to Syria in just about 13 years.
That was once now not lengthy after the Damascus Global Airport’s first outbound flight took off and headed for the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Syrian Airways flight sure for Sharjah took off at round 11:45 a.m. (8:45 a.m. GMT), marking the primary global industrial flight since Dec. 8.
Syria’s three-star independence flag, lengthy related to opposition to Assad and which the brand new government have followed, was once painted at the airplane.
The state information company SANA reported that “the primary Syrian airplane after liberation” took off, heading to Sharjah sporting “145 Syrian passengers onboard.”
Ultimate week, Qatar Airlines introduced it could perform 3 weekly flights to Damascus from Tuesday.
Jordanian state-run Petra information company on Tuesday additionally reported {that a} Royal Jordanian Airways airplane had departed heading to Damascus on a take a look at flight.
The flight is “a message of enhance and team spirit” that “objectives to evaluate the technical situation of Damascus Global Airport,” Haitham Misto, the top of the Civil Aviation Regulatory Fee, mentioned.
Pleasure was once within the air on the Damascus airport, with passengers getting back from Qatar chanting and cheering, with some draped in Syria’s three-star independence flag.
“Nowadays marks a brand new starting,” Damascus Global Airport Director Anis Fallouh instructed Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“We began welcoming outbound and inbound global flights,” Fallouh mentioned.
Other people wait to obtain their family members on the arrival terminal of the Damascus Global Airport, Damascus, Syria, Jan. 7, 2025. (Reuters Photograph)
For the reason that lightning offensive that unseated Assad a month in the past, Arab and Western international locations that had bring to a halt family members with the regime were reopening diplomatic family members with Syria’s new de facto government, headed through Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The brand new management has been endeavoring to reestablish safety within the war-torn nation and wooing the outdoor global for enhance.
Its new international minister met along with his Qatari counterpart and Qatar’s high minister in Doha on Sunday. He additionally made visits to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Global assist planes and international diplomatic delegations have already been touchdown in Syria, and home flights have additionally resumed.
“I used to be afraid that the airport would keep closed, my visa was once about to run out, however now I’m more than happy,” Amal Jeroudi, a 45-year-old Syrian, instructed AFP as she awaited her flight to Dubai the place she was once assembly her family members.
Passengers line up sooner than boarding their flight on the Damascus Global Airport, Damascus, Syria, Jan. 7, 2025. (AFP Photograph)
She mentioned airport staff all the way through Assad’s rule “had been condescending, however these days they’re really nice and welcomed us with a grin.”
The Damascus Global Airport was once looted at the evening of Dec. 7-8 after the airport’s guards fled as opposition forces captured the capital. Many of the technical and engineering apparatus and provides had been stolen.
Assad fled to Moscow after his ouster and won asylum from best friend Russia.
On Dec. 18, the airport was once opened partly when a home flight took off for the northern town of Aleppo. Officers on the airport mentioned on the time the reopening was once partial on account of the vandalism and thefts.
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