First Turkish Airlines plane lands in Syria in more than a decade

DAMASCUS: The first Turkish Airlines flight in 13 years landed in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, an AFP correspondent reported.

The plane arrived from Istanbul carrying aid and 345 passengers, including Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Eksi and Turkish officials, the correspondent said.

“The first Turkish Airlines passenger plane landed at Damascus International Airport after a hiatus of some 13 years, with Syrian passengers on board,” Syria’s official news agency SANA reported.

Turkey, which supports the Islamist-led rebels who overthrew longtime strongman Bashar Al Assad last month, had announced on January 15 that it would resume commercial flights to Damascus.

Qatar Airways was the first international carrier to announce it would resume Damascus services, which began on January 7.

A Syrian Airlines flight to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates the same day was the first international commercial flight from the airport since Assad’s overthrow on December 8.

Aid planes and foreign diplomatic delegations had already been landing in Syria, and domestic flights had also resumed. A flight from Damascus to second city Aleppo on December 18 was the first.