Turkish Airlines to resume flights to Damascus on Jan. 23
An Airbus 330 aircraft with the tail number TC-LNE, named after Gobeklitepe, belonging to Turkish Airlines. (Photo via Jet Photos)
Turkish Airlines General Manager Bilal Eksi announced Wednesday that flights to the Syrian capital Damascus will resume on January 23.
In a statement on social media, Eksi shared a quote from the late Turkish poet and thinker Sezai Karakoc: “I have known Damascus since a thousand years ago. It is as close to me as my mother’s milk.”
Eksi added, “We are returning to Damascus. Starting on Thursday, January 23, we will begin flights to Damascus with three weekly departures. Best wishes.”
1st flight to depart from Istanbul Airport
The airline’s first flight to Damascus will depart from Istanbul Airport at 09:00 PM (GMT+3) on Thursday, January 23, using a wide-body Airbus A330-203 aircraft.
Direct flights will be available three times a week — on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays — with departures from Istanbul at 09:00 AM. Return flights from Damascus International Airport to Istanbul will also operate on these days.Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups took control of Damascus on Dec. 8, ending the Baath Party’s decadeslong regime.
The takeover came after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured key cities in a lightning offensive that lasted less than two weeks. A new administration led by Ahmed al-Sharaa has taken control of the country.
