International flights in and out of Syria’s main airport in Damascus will resume next week after being halted since rebels overthrew former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime last month.
“We will start receiving international flights to and from Damascus international airport [on Tuesday],” Ashhad al-Salibi, the head of the General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport, said Saturday, according the Syrian state news agency SANA.
“We reassure Arab and international airlines that we have begun the phase of rehabilitating the Aleppo and Damascus airports with our partners’ help, so that they can welcome flights from all over the world,” al-Salibi added.
On Thursday, Qatar Airways announced it would resume flights to Damascus after nearly 13 years of civil war there, making it the first major international airline to restart service following Assad’s ousting in early December.
Domestic flights, international aid planes and foreign diplomatic delegations have already been landing in Syria, according to reports.
The first domestic flight since Hayat al-Tahrir al-Sham-led rebels seized Damascus took off on Dec. 18, transporting 43 people, including a group of journalists, from the capital to Aleppo in the north.
Assad’s forces abandoned the airport on Dec. 8 amid the lightening offensive that sent their leader fleeing to Russia.
A week later, airport staff painted the pro-opposition flag on airplanes and replaced Assad’s flags inside the terminal, according to reports.
With Post wires
