By Laith al-Junaidi

AMMAN 

Jordan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has announced the resumption of commercial flights over Syrian airspace after a seven-year hiatus.

According to a CAA statement released Monday, the decision follows a series of recent safety assessments carried out in conjunction with the Syrian government.

“Based on these assessments, it was decided to allow Jordanian air carriers to resume the use of Syrian airspace,” the statement read.

Relations between Amman and Damascus soured after the eruption of the Syria conflict in 2011. They were completely suspended in 2014 after Jordan expelled Syria’s ambassador in Amman.

Relations appear to have thawed in recent months, however, with the two neighbors officially reopening their shared border last October.

And in another sign of warming ties, Jordan in January raised the level of its diplomatic representation in Damascus to the level of chargé d'affaires.