Damascus Airport to resume international flights starting 7 January

Following President Bashar Assad’s overthrow last month, Syria said on Saturday that its main airport in Damascus would begin operating international flights again the following week.

Ashhad Al-Salibi, head of the General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport, told the state news agency SANA on Tuesday, “We announce that we will start receiving international flights to and from Damascus International Airport.”

Assuring Arab and foreign airlines, he said, “We have started the process of fixing up the Aleppo and Damascus airports with the help of our partners so that they can receive flights from all over the world.”

International aid planes and political missions have already landed in Syria. Additionally, domestic trips have resumed.

Thursday, Qatar Airways revealed that it will start flying to the capital of Syria again after almost 13 years. The first flight will be on Tuesday, and there will be three more every week.

Last month, a source from Qatar told AFP that Doha had offered to help the new government in Syria get the airport in Damascus back up and running.

Reporters from AFP saw the first flight from Damascus to Aleppo in the north of the country on December 18. This was the first flight since Islamist-led rebels overthrew Assad on 8 December 2024.