1st direct Saudi flight lands in Syria after 12-year hiatus
Several airlines began resuming flights to and from Damascus airport in January
Damascus
DAMASCUS, Syria / ISTANBUL
The first direct Saudi flight landed in Syria on Thursday after a 12-year suspension, local media said.
According to the Syrian state news agency SANA, the Saudi Flynas airliner arrived at Damascus International Airport from Riyadh after years of interruption.
In April, a delegation from Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation conducted a routine tour of the airport before resuming flights with Syria.
In 2012, most airlines stopped their flights to and from Damascus due to the former Syrian regime’s suppression of the popular protests that broke out in 2011.
In January 2025, several airlines began resuming flights to and from Damascus International Airport, following an announcement from the Syrian General Authority of Civil Aviation on the start of receiving international flights.
Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia late last year, ending the Baath Party’s regime, which had been in power since 1963.
Ahmad al-Sharaa, who led anti-regime forces to oust Assad, was declared president for a transitional period in January.
