Ground personnel walk on the tarmac as a Syrian Air aircraft taxis ahead of take off to the city of Aleppo, on Dec. 18, 2024. (AFP Photo)
By Newsroom
Dec 18, 2024 11:56 AM
The first flight since the ouster of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad took off on Wednesday from Damascus International Airport, marking a significant moment in the country’s ongoing transformation.
The Syrian Air Airbus carried 43 passengers, including journalists, on a domestic route to Aleppo in northern Syria.
Assad fled Syria following a rapid opposition-led offensive launched on Nov. 27, which resulted in the loss of major cities to opposition forces. On Dec. 8, the Syrian army and security forces abandoned Damascus International Airport, halting all flight operations until Wednesday’s historic takeoff.
Ground personnel prepare a Syrian Air aircraft before a flight to the city of Aleppo on December 18, 2024, at Damascus international airport. – The first flight since the ouster of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad took off on December 18, from Damascus airport to Aleppo in the country’s north, AFP journalists saw. Thirty-two people including journalists were on board the plane. Assad fled Syria as a lightning rebel offensive wrested from his control city after city. His army and security forces abandoned Damascus airport on December 8. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)Pilots sit at the cockpit of a Syrian Air aircraft at Damascus international airport before a flight to the city of Aleppo, on December 18, 2024. – The first flight since the ouster of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad took off on December 18, from Damascus airport to Aleppo in the country’s north, AFP journalists saw. Thirty-two people including journalists were on board the plane. Assad fled Syria as a lightning rebel offensive wrested from his control city after city. His army and security forces abandoned Damascus airport on December 8. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)Ground personnel prepare a Syrian Air aircraft before a flight to the city of Aleppo on December 18, 2024, at Damascus international airport. – The first flight since the ouster of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad took off on December 18, from Damascus airport to Aleppo in the country’s north, AFP journalists saw. Thirty-two people including journalists were on board the plane. Assad fled Syria as a lightning rebel offensive wrested from his control city after city. His army and security forces abandoned Damascus airport on December 8. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)A Syrian Air aircraft taxis at the tarmac before a flight to the city of Aleppo, on December 18, 2024, at Damascus international airport. – The first flight since the ouster of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad took off on December 18, from Damascus airport to Aleppo in the country’s north, AFP journalists saw. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP)
New era symbolized by independence flag
In preparation for the airport’s reopening, staff painted the three-star independence flag—adopted by Syria’s new rulers as a symbol of the 2011 uprising—on Syrian Airplanes. Inside the terminal, the independence flag replaced the tricolor banner associated with Assad’s era, signaling a symbolic break from the former regime.
This flight is seen as a milestone in the country’s recovery and a step toward restoring normalcy in regions now controlled by the new government.
Ground personnel walk on the tarmac as a Syrian Air aircraft taxis ahead of take off to the city of Aleppo, on Dec. 18, 2024. (AFP Photo)
