Damascus Airport to resume operations ‘within days’

An aerial view of the Damascus International Airport as the maintenance and repair works begin on the Syrian Airlines planes following the collapse of regime control in Damascus, Syria on December 11, 2024 [Abdulkarem Al Mohammad/Anadolu via Getty Images]

Damascus International Airport will resume operations “within days”, said its director, Anis Fallouh, on Wednesday, AFP has reported. The airport has been closed since the ousting of Bashar Al-Assad on Sunday.

“God willing, the airport will reopen as quickly as possible because we are going to work flat out,” said Fallouh. “We can quickly let aircraft resume flights through Syrian airspace, which has been closed.”

Armed members of the former opposition factions have been deployed around the airport, while employees continue to work inside, where security forces linked to the new regime were deployed.

The Assad regime army and security forces left the airport at dawn on Sunday, as Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) and allied factions advanced towards Damascus.

“Assad left Syria via Damascus International Airport,” said the director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, Rami Abdulrahman, “before the army and security elements withdrew.”

The airport’s aircraft maintenance manager, Samer Radi, pointed out that Syrian Airlines has a fleet of 12 aircraft, including eight Airbus A320-20s. Damascus International Airport is the largest in the country. In November 2023, it was put out of service after being bombed by Israel.

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