Damascus International Airport has resumed operations today, Tuesday, January 7, following a month-long shutdown due to developments in Syria with the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The Syrian News Agency (SANA) reported that the first Syrian flight after the regime’s collapse took off today from Damascus Airport to Sharjah International Airport, carrying 145 Syrian passengers.

A video has spread on social media showing Syrians celebrating inside a civilian aircraft just before its departure from Doha Airport to Damascus, following the airport’s reopening.

Al-Arabiya channel reported that Damascus International Airport will witness two departures from Damascus and one arrival today, in addition to ongoing relief flights from Saudi Arabia.

Al-Arabiya added that most parts of the airport have been rehabilitated, though parts of the runway still require some maintenance.

Today, the seventh Saudi relief flight, operated by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, departed from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh heading to Damascus International Airport.

Moreover, on Monday, January 6, a Qatari aid flight arrived at Damascus International Airport, carrying humanitarian aid provided by the Qatar Development Fund and Qatar Charity to assist the Syrian people.

The Chairman of the Civil Aviation and Air Transport Authority, Ashhad al-Salibi, confirmed to SANA that international flight operations to and from Damascus International Airport would begin as of January 7.

Al-Salibi added, “We assure Arab and international airlines that we are in a complete rehabilitation phase for Aleppo and Damascus Airports with the help of our partners, so they will be ready to receive flights from all over the world.”

Cham Wings Airlines announced that it would resume its flights to and from Damascus International Airport starting today, with a daily flight scheduled from Damascus to Sharjah and vice versa, with plans to gradually add schedules for other destinations.

On December 18, 2024, a plane departed from Damascus to Aleppo on a test flight, marking the first since the fall of al-Assad on December 8 of the same year.