A commercial flight from Qatar touched down at Damascus International Airport on Tuesday, marking a significant step toward Syria's reintegration into the global aviation network. This is the first such flight since the recent political changes. A test flight by Royal Jordanian Airlines was also reported.
The flight, carrying a team of aviation specialists, aimed to assess the Damascus airport's technical readiness for regular service resumption. Capt. Haitham Misto, head of the Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission, led the evaluation.
Recent diplomatic thawing between Syria and several Arab and Western nations has paved the way for this development. Following the ousting of former President Assad, countries previously severing ties are now re-establishing relations with Syria's new de facto authorities, led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Further signaling this normalization, Syria's new foreign minister met with his Qatari counterpart and Qatar's prime minister in Doha on Sunday. This sets the stage for further commercial aviation activity.
