DAMASCUS, Syria — A significant milestone took place on Tuesday as the first international commercial flight since the fall of former President Bashar Assad arrived at Damascus International Airport.
The Qatar Airways aircraft touched down, welcomed by enthusiastic passengers’ relatives and friends waiting inside the terminal.
Ashad al-Suleibi, the head of Syria’s Air Transport Authority, noted that Qatar played a crucial role in revamping the airport, which had been neglected for years and had sustained damages due to intermittent Israeli airstrikes.
“Honestly, there was a lot of damage from the regime to this vibrant area and this lively airport, as well as to the Aleppo airport,” al-Suleibi remarked.
Among those on board, many were Syrian nationals returning home for the first time in over a decade.
Osama Musalama, who arrived from the United States, expressed his emotions about being back in Syria after the civil war began in 2011.
“I lost hope that I would come back to Syria,” he shared. “We were waiting for this moment and lost hope, but thank God now the country is back to its people.”
In a related development, the Jordanian state-run Petra news agency reported a test flight by Royal Jordanian Airlines to Damascus.
Capt. Haitham Misto, who leads Jordan’s Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission, was on board with a team of experts assessing the airport’s technical conditions for the resumption of regular flights.
Following the swift rebel offensive that ousted Assad about a month ago, both Arab and Western nations are starting to reestablish diplomatic ties with Syria’s new de facto authorities, led by the former Islamist insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Recently appointed Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani has visited Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, as these Gulf nations are expected to play vital roles in funding Syria’s reconstruction after years of civil turmoil.
On Tuesday, al-Shibani continued his diplomatic efforts by meeting his Jordanian counterpart in Amman. According to Jordan’s foreign ministry, the purpose of their discussions included enhancing cooperation in various sectors such as security, borders, energy, transportation, trade, and more.
During Assad’s regime, Jordan became a key route for smuggling Captagon, an addictive amphetamine produced in Syria, into Gulf countries, causing friction between the neighboring nations.
Since the regime change, Syria’s new leadership has publicly committed to addressing the Captagon trade, having dismantled manufacturing sites including those at the Mazzeh air base in Damascus and other locations in Latakia and Douma.
“The new situation in Syria has also mitigated the security threats that previously endangered the Kingdom, regarding drugs and Captagon, and we promise that this will not happen again,” al-Shibani stated in a joint press briefing with Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi.
Al-Safadi emphasized Jordan’s support for the Syrian population as they strive to “rebuild their homeland based on principles that uphold its security, stability, sovereignty, and unity,” mentioning that Jordan is ready to supply electricity and collaborate on providing gas.
With stringent Western sanctions in place, Syria is grappling with a prolonged economic crisis, leaving many citizens with just a few hours of government-provided electricity each day.
