Syria to resume international flights at Damascus airport
Damascus: Syria's Damascus International Airport will begin receiving international flights starting Tuesday, Ashhad al-Salibi, chairman of the Syrian General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport, announced Saturday.
Al-Salibi told Syria's SANA state news agency that the authorities are in the process of fully rehabilitating the airports in Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo to accommodate international flights.
Operations at the airports were suspended following the overthrow of Syria's Bashar al-Assad administration last month.
Qatar Airways also said on Thursday it will resume flights to Damascus starting January 7, just days after the country reopened its embassy in the Syrian capital after a 13-year closure.
The airline announced it will operate three weekly flights to the city, which it described as having "great historical and cultural importance."
Qatar Airways Group CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer said in a statement that the move underscores the airline's commitment to fostering connectivity and facilitating travel for passengers.
Qatar reopened its embassy in Damascus on December 21, 2024, following the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government on December 8. The embassy had been closed since 2011, after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.
On December 30, the first Qatari direct aid flight arrived at Damascus International Airport.
According to the Qatar's Foreign Ministry, the aircraft carried humanitarian aid including ambulances, medicines, and food supplies, as well as technical assistance to support the resumption of the Syrian airport, all provided by the Qatar Fund for Development.
"This step will accelerate the delivery of aid to the beneficiary sectors," a statement quoted Qatari Minister of State for International Cooperation Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad as saying.
The minister confirmed the continued flow of Qatari aid through various ports of entry into Syria and expressed Qatar's steadfast commitment to supporting Syria in humanitarian and developmental fields.