Turkish Airlines reopen services to Syria after 13 years
The first Turkish Airlines flight in over 13 years has landed in the Syrian capital Damascus on January 23rd, an AFP correspondent reported, according to Al Monitor via AFP.
The plane departed from Istanbul carrying aid and 345 passengers, amongst these passengers included Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Eksi and Turkish officials, the correspondent reported.
“The first Turkish Airlines passenger plane landed at Damascus International Airport after a hiatus of some 13 years, with Syrian passengers on board,” said Syria’s official news agency, SANA.
On January 15th Turkey initially announced they would be resuming commercial flights to Damascus.
This highlights Turkey`s support for the Islamist-led rebels who overthrew longtime Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
However Turkish Airlines were not the first to resume flights to Damascus, Qatar Airways were the first international line to announce it would resume Damascus services, these began on January 7th.
A Syrian Airlines flight to Sharjah in the UAE also departed on January 7th, making it the first international commercial flight from the airport since Assad was overthrown.
Prior to this, aid planes and foreign diplomatic delegations were already landing in Syria and domestic plane travel also resumed.
Al-Monitor, AFP, SANA
