As per an announcement from Qatar Airways, the carrier will resume its flights, with a rate of three flights per week, eventually becoming the first airline to resume flights to Syria after the fall of the Assad regime on December 8 last year.
Happening after nearly 13 years,the airline announced on Thursday, January 2, that it will begin operating its first flights on January 7 to Damascus International Airport.
The Qatari national carrier "is pleased to announce the resumption of three weekly flights to Damascus, Syria, from 7 January 2025," it said in a statement.
It hailed a "significant step in reconnecting the region," about a month after rebels toppled Syria's longtime ruler Bashar Al Assad, capping more than a decade of civil war.
It added that the decision to resume flights was in response to the increasing demand from travelers and a confirmation of its commitment to enhancing regional connectivity.
This development follows the recent reactivation of Damascus International Airport, which was shut down due to the civil war and damage inflicted during the conflict that led to the ousting of former President Bashar al-Assad.
The airport saw its first commercial flight since Assad's removal in early December, operated by Syrian Air, signaling a tentative return to normalcy.
The first commercial flight took off from Damascus International Airport to Aleppo, after the regime’s fall, on December 18, 2024, as a trial flight.
Qatar Airways confirmed that it is working with the relevant authorities to ensure that flights to Syria meet the necessary safety, security, and operational standards before resuming operations in five days.
"Qatar Airways is working closely with relevant authorities to ensure that all necessary safety, security and operational standards are met ahead of the relaunch," the airline said.
Qatar Airways CEO Engineer Badr Mohammed al-Meer stated,
“We are pleased to announce the resumption of Qatar Airways flights to Syria, a country with a rich history and culture.”
Already on December 30, first Qatari Emiri Air Force C-17 Globemaster III arrived at Damascus International Airport, that airlifted 30 tons of humanitarian aid from Doha to the Syrian people.
Since the beginning of the Syrian revolution in 2011, which led to the overthrow of the former regime led by Bashar al-Assad, relations between Syria and Qatar were severed; they resumed after the regime’s fall on December 8, 2024.
Qatar was the second country, after Turkey, to activate its embassy in the Syrian capital following the fall of the Assad Regime last month, and as stated above, it's national carrier will become first operator to resume flights to Damascus after the fall of the Syrian regime.
In the previous era, only a limited number of international airlines operated flights to Damascus, including Iranian, Iraqi, and Lebanese airlines.
Several international operators have expressed their willingness to resume flights, including Turkish and Jordanian carriers, amid increasing demand to reach Damascus via airports from Syrian refugees and expatriates in neighboring countries and Europe after the regime’s fall.
Air traffic at Damascus and Aleppo International Airports was halted during the military operations that overthrew Bashar al-Assad’s regime.The airport remains under repair from extensive war damage, particularly from Israeli airstrikes, with recovery efforts ongoing.
At this time, the interim government is also focusing on enhancing consular services to better serve the Syrian diaspora, many of whom fled during the Assad regime's crackdown.
