Turkish Airlines announced the resumption of its flights to the Syrian capital, Damascus, starting from January 23, following a halt that lasted for more than ten years.
Bilal Ekşi, the General Manager of Turkish Airlines, stated in a post on the “X” platform on January 15 that the company will organize three weekly flights to Damascus.
According to what was monitored by Enab Baladi, the first flight on January 23 was fully booked, while the second flight is scheduled to depart on January 26, with a business class ticket costing 37,000 Turkish lira (approximately $1,070), while the economy class for this flight has also been fully booked.
As for the next month, ticket prices will start at 5,000 Turkish lira (approximately $140).
Previously, Turkish Minister of Transport Abdulkadir Uraloğlu revealed a plan to launch continuous direct flights between Istanbul and Damascus on January 9.
Turkey suspended all flights to and from Syria in April 2012.
Turkish Airlines had previously re-listed Damascus and Aleppo international airports as travel options to and from Istanbul after the fall of the Assad regime, but without specifying ticket prices or flight schedules.
Damascus International Airport resumed operations on January 7 after a month-long halt following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
Cham Wings Airlines also announced the return of its flights to and from Damascus International Airport on January 7.
Qatar Airways announced the resumption of its flights, with three weekly flights, becoming the first airline to resume flights to Syria after the fall of the regime on January 2.
Flight operations at Aleppo and Damascus international airports had ceased since the military operations that ousted Bashar al-Assad’s regime, with the first civilian flight from Damascus International Airport to Aleppo taking off on December 18, 2024, as a test flight.
In recent days, several planes have landed at Damascus airport, either carrying aid provided by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, or foreign and Arab delegations coming to Damascus to meet the new administration.