Syria’s main airport in Damascus will resume international flights after commercial travel was halted following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad.
“We announce that we will start receiving international flights to and from Damascus International Airport from (Tuesday),” the official Sana news agency reported, citing Ashhad al-Salibi, head of the General Authority for Civil Aviation and Air Transport.
“We reassure Arab and international airlines that we have started the phase of rehabilitation of Aleppo and Damascus airports with the help of our partners, so that they can accommodate flights from all over the world.”
International humanitarian planes and foreign diplomatic delegations have already landed in Syria. Domestic flights have also resumed.
On Thursday, Qatar Airways announced it would resume flights to the Syrian capital after nearly 13 years, starting with three weekly flights starting Tuesday.
A Qatari official told Agence-France Presse last month that Doha had offered new Syrian authorities help in resuming operations at Damascus airport.
On December 18, the first flight since Islamist rebels ousted Assad ten days earlier took off from Damascus airport to Aleppo in the north of the country, AFP journalists reported.
An Egyptian aid plane landed at Damascus airport on Saturday, carrying the first humanitarian delivery to Cairo since Assad’s ouster.
The civilian cargo plane loaded with 15 tons of supplies was part of Egypt’s “commitment to support the brotherly Syrian people,” the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The cargo, provided by the Egyptian Red Crescent, was handed over to its Syrian counterpart and included tents, blankets, food and medical supplies, the state-linked Al-Qahera newspaper said.
Saudi Arabia launched a humanitarian airlift to Syria on Wednesday, delivering food, shelter and medical supplies, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
Syria is reeling from 13 years of civil war and crippling Western sanctions targeting the Assad regime, toppled in a rebel offensive last month.
The conflict has displaced millions of people and left the economy in ruins, with basic infrastructure struggling to function.
theguardian