Damascus International Airport is set to resume international flights on Tuesday, according to Ashad Al-Suleibi, head of the Syrian Civil Aviation and Air Transport Authority. In a statement to the official Syrian news agency SANA, Al-Suleibi assured regional and international airlines that efforts are underway to fully rehabilitate the airports in Damascus and Aleppo, Syria's two largest cities, with the assistance of international partners. "We are pleased to announce the resumption of international flights to and from Damascus International Airport starting Jan. 7," he said. This marks the reopening of air travel after more than a decade of suspended operations. Most airlines halted flights to and from Damascus in 2012, following the Syrian regime's violent crackdown on protests in 2011, which escalated into the ongoing civil war. Qatar Airways is the first international airline to announce its return, with three weekly flights to Damascus beginning Tuesday. The development follows a significant political shift in Syria. Bashar Assad, who led the country for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia on Dec. 8 after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus, ending the Baath Party's decades-long rule. The takeover was led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters, who captured key cities in a lightning offensive lasting less than two weeks. A new administration, headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, has now assumed leadership in Syria. — Agencies
