Syria’s Damascus Airport have resumed international flight operations for the first time since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime

By bnm Cairo bureau Damascus International Airport resumed operations on January 7, with the first flight of Syrian Airlines departing this morning for Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, local media reported.

The country’s new leaders are pushing to restore a sense of normalcy. But Syria remains under a host of international sanctions imposed during the Assad regime.

The first international commercial flight since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad landed Tuesday at the Damascus airport. The Qatar Airways flight landed at Damascus International Airport,

International flights resumed at Syria's main airport in Damascus on Tuesday for the first time since Islamist-led forces toppled president Bashar al-Assad last month.

People from Doha of Qatar arrive at the Damascus International Airport, in Damascus, Syria, on Jan. 7, 2025. Damascus International Airport received its first civilian flight from Doha on Tuesday, marking the first arrival from Qatar in 13 years, according to airport officials. (Photo by Monsef Memari/Xinhua)

Tensions are high on Syria’s border with Lebanon. The ouster of President Bashar al-Assad led to worry that violence could spill over into neighboring countries.

Crowds of people were gathered to greet those arriving at Damascus airport, with several Syrians returning for the first time in years.

On December 18, the first flight since Islamist-led rebels ousted Assad 10 days earlier took off from Damascus airport bound for Aleppo in the country's north, according to AFP journalists.

A Qatar Airways plane became the first to land at Damascus airport since the ousting of the government of former President Bashar al-Assad last month, as Syria’s interim leaders hope to reassert a semblance of normalcy in the country.