A Syrian Airlines passenger plane operated its first direct flight between Damascus and Istanbul in over a decade on Tuesday, a report by the Syrian news agency said.
The flight from Damascus International Airport to Istanbul International Airport marked the air carrier’s first flight on this route in 12 years, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.
The resumption of direct flights between Syria’s capital and the Turkish metropolis follows a 12-year suspension triggered by the Syrian civil war, which ended late last year with the ousting of longtime regime ruler Bashar Assad.
Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963.
Ahmed al-Sharaa, who led anti-regime forces to oust Assad, was declared president in January for a transitional period.
The restart of flights by Syrian Airlines, operating as SyrianAir comes as the latest in recent months, as several airlines began resuming flights to and from Damascus International Airport, following an announcement from the Syrian General Authority of Civil Aviation on the start of receiving international flights.
SyrianAir's Damascus-Istanbul flights will be operated five days a week, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, a report by Demirören News Agency (DHA) said.
AJet, a subsidiary of Turkish Airlines (THY) said last week it would start flights to Damascus International Airport from Istanbul and Ankara airports as of mid-June.
It said in a statement that flights from Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport will start on June 16. While flights will initially take place four times per week before, they are expected to start operating daily starting in July, the carrier also said.
Flights to Damascus from the Turkish capital Ankara will start June 17, three times per week, it added.
Türkiye's flag carrier, Turkish Airlines, resumed flights to Damascus in January after a 13-year suspension.
Türkiye, a close ally of the new government in Damascus, has pledged to support the country's reconstruction. Ankara has already helped with the improvement and maintenance of Syria's airports, the Turkish transport minister has said.
