The airport authority says flights will resume on January 7 as Qatar Airways aims to start flights to Damascus after 13 years.
Syria’s Damascus airport will resume international flights on Tuesday, for the first time since Bashar al-Assad was ousted by armed opposition fighters last month.
No flights have taken off or landed since pro-Assad forces left the Syrian capital’s airport on December 8 after opposition fighters marched on the city following a lightning offensive that began on November 27.
“We announce that we will start receiving international flights to and from Damascus International Airport” from Tuesday, state news agency SANA said Saturday, citing Ashhad al-Salibi, who heads the General Directorate of Civil Aviation and Air Traffic.
“We assure Arab and international airlines that with the help of our partners, we have started the phase of rebuilding the airports in Aleppo and Damascus, so that they can welcome flights from all over the world,” he said.
Al Jazeera reporter Hashim Ahelbarra, reporting from Damascus, said the announcement had “significant political and economic implications” for the war-torn nation.
“The new administration is in contact with key regional players, particularly Qatar, about the need to help them rebuild their Damascus airport to meet international security standards,” he said.
“They want to send a message that life in Syria has returned to normal and allow hundreds of thousands of Syrians living abroad to return home. Also, it is a message to the international community that the new administration, which is in control and despite the situation in the entire country, manages to ensure security standards throughout Syria.”
International aid planes and foreign diplomatic delegations they have already landed in Syria. Domestic flights resumed on December 18, when a flight left Damascus for Aleppo, the AFP news agency reports.
Syrian Airlines will resume flights from Damascus to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates starting Tuesday, an employee told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
On Thursday, Qatar Airways announced the resumption of flights to the Syrian capital after almost 13 years, starting on Tuesday with three flights a week.
