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A Syrian Airlines passenger plane landed at Istanbul Airport on Tuesday evening, marking the first direct flight from Damascus in over a decade.
The flight, which departed from Damascus International Airport, was greeted with a ceremony at Gate B15, where Turkish and Syrian aviation officials exchanged flowers and warm handshakes.
Firat Ocak, Director of Aviation Development at IGA, Samih Arabi, General Manager of Syrian Airlines, and other officials attended the event.
This inaugural flight follows a 12-year suspension of air travel between Syria and Türkiye, a hiatus that began with the outbreak of the Syrian uprising in 2011.
Representatives from IGA, the company operating Istanbul Airport, welcomed the Syrian delegation, including the airline's General Manager Samih Arabi, who described the occasion as a “truly national achievement.”
Arabi highlighted the rigorous technical and regulatory challenges the airline overcame to restore the route, stating that the carrier now meets standards comparable to those of European operators.
“The return of this air route is a historic achievement in every sense of the word,” said Arabi, “given the deep ties of friendship and brotherhood that unite the Syrian and Turkish people.”
Plans are underway to expand the network to include Turkish cities with significant Syrian populations such as Mersin, Izmir, and Antakya.
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