Turkish Airlines announced that it would resume flights to Syria's capital Damascus on Jan. 23 after nearly a 14-year hiatus.
Turkish Airlines General Manager Bilal Ekşi made the announcement on his social media account.
Quoting the late poet and thinker Sezai Karakoç, who once wrote, "I know Damascus from a thousand years ago. It is as close to me as my mother’s milk," Ekşi said Turkish Airlines was returning to Damascus.
"Flights to Damascus will begin on Thursday, Jan. 23, with three flights per week," he said.
Ekşi's announcement coincided with the visit of Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shaibani.
Turkish Airlines halted all flights to Syria following the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.
Türkiye has offered assistance to its southern neighbor, preparing an action plan to help repair and rebuild Syria’s war-damaged infrastructure, including airports, bridges, roads, and railways. “We are committed to helping Syria restore its critical infrastructure,” said Türkiye’s Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu.
