Syria’s diplomatic revival takes a major step as the first international flight since Bashar al-Assad's ouster lands at Damascus International Airport. A Qatar Airways flight carrying Syrian nationals and greeted by families marks a new era for Syria’s aviation and international relations.

A Qatar airways flight touched down at Damascus international airport on Tuesday; on board were nationals returning after years abroad. It marks the first commercial flight to the airport since Islamist-led forces ousted Bashar al-Assad in December.

The first international commercial flight since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad has landed at the Damascus airport arriving from Qatar.

The national airline of Qatar has announced that it will resume weekly flights to Syria 13 years after cancelling operations. Qatar Airways will offer three weekly flights between Qatar and Damascus, Syria, from Tuesday (7 January). In 2011, flights by the carrier to and from Damascus and Aleppo were cancelled amid Syria’s civil war.

A Qatar Airways plane, in the background is the first international commercial flight since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar Assad to land at Damascus international airport on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025. (Omar Sanadiki/AP)

The first international commercial flight since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad landed at Damascus airport on Jan. 7.

Passengers at Damascus airport hugged their families and cried with joy on Tuesday (January 7), as international flights resumed for the first time since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime last month.

Crowds of people were gathered to greet those arriving at Damascus airport, with several Syrians returning for the first time in years.

The country’s new leaders are pushing to restore a sense of normalcy. But Syria remains under a host of international sanctions imposed during the Assad regime.