Flights between Syria and Saudi Arabia resume after 12 years

A flight from Syria touched down in Saudi Arabia for the first time after 12 years on July 10th, reported the state-controlled Syrian Arab News Agency. The Syrian Airlines commercial plane flew from Damascus International Airport into King Khalid Airport in Riyadh carrying 170 passengers, the first of many to come as regular air travel between the two countries resume.

Syrian ambassador to Saudi Arabia Ayman Soussan told AFP that the two Arab countries will “operate one round-trip flight per week between Riyadh and Damascus”. Depending on demand, flights may also come out of the Saudi cities of Jeddah and Dammam in the future, according to Syrian transport ministry official Suleiman Khalil.

“The return of regular flights between the two countries is an additional step in the process of development in relations between the two brotherly countries, stated Soussan.

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Saudi Arabia had cut ties with Syria in 2012 over President Bashar al-Assad’s brutality in the country’s civil war. In May this year, the Gulf powerhouse appointed its first ambassador to Syria in more than a decade, shortly after the United Arab Emirates appointed theirs.

Restoring commercial flights and diplomatic ties marks an increasing thawing of relations between Saudi Arabia and Syria. The Arab League also readmitted Syria last year after suspending its membership for more than a decade.

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Yet despite the readmission, Arab League members remain concerned over the humanitarian crisis in Syria, urging President Assad to address critical concerns in the country.

Syria’s civil war which has lasted 13 years has now largely subsided, with Assad’s government having regained control over most of its territory. Syrians who have fled abroad to seek refuge in places like Europe and Lebanon have also started returning to their war-torn home country.

Syrian Arab News Agency/AFP