The first international flight since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has landed at Damascus airport.
A Qatar Airways flight landed in Damascus on Tuesday, and was greeted by family and friends on board in the warehouse.
Ashad al-Suleibi, head of Syria's Air Transport Authority, said Qatar had offered help in rehabilitating the airport, which has been neglected for years and damaged by Israeli planes from time to time.
“There was a lot of damage from the (al-Assad) regime to this interesting area and this airport and Aleppo airport,” he said.
Most of the passengers were Syrian nationals returning for the first time in more than a decade.
Osama Musalama, who came from the United States, said it was his first visit since the civil war that began in 2011.
“I lost hope of going back to Syria,” he said. “We were waiting for this moment and we lost hope, but we thank God now that the country has returned to its people.”
Separately, Jordan's state-run Petra news agency reported that a Royal Jordanian Airlines flight had departed for Damascus on a test flight.
The head of Jordan's Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission, Haitham Misto, who was on the plane with a team of experts, said the purpose was to test the capabilities of the Damascus airport before resuming flights.
Since the uprising that toppled al-Assad last month, Arab and Western countries that severed ties with the former regime have been reopening ties with the Syrian authorities, led by Ahmed al-Sharaa of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
'Security, Stability, Authority'
Syria's new foreign minister, Asaad al-Shibani, has visited Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in recent days. The Gulf states are expected to be key in financing the reconstruction of Syria after nearly 14 years of civil war that led to the ouster of al-Assad.
On Tuesday, al-Shibani traveled to Jordan to meet his counterpart in Amman. Jordan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the officials will discuss “strategies to work in many areas including borders, security, energy, transport, water, trade and other important matters”.
During al-Assad's regime, Jordan was the main route for smuggling Captagon amphetamines produced in Syria to the Gulf States, which led to tensions between the two countries.
The new Syrian authorities have shown disruption to Captagon's business, demolishing old factories in areas including the Mezzeh airport in Damascus, a car dealership in Latakia and a factory that made small chips in the Damascus suburb of Douma.
“The new situation in Syria has also put an end to the threats that threatened the security of the Kingdom (of Jordan), in terms of drugs and Captagon, and we promise that this thing is over and will not return,” said al-Shibani. at a press conference with Jordan's foreign minister Ayman al-Safadi.
Al-Safadi said that his country is helping the Syrian people as they work to “rebuild their country on the foundations that protect security, stability, governance and unity and achieve the rights of its people”, adding that Jordan is “ready to provide electricity to our brothers as soon as possible.” , and we are ready to work together to provide air”.
Syria, which is under strict Western sanctions, has been in financial trouble for a long time. Syrians receive only a few hours of government-sponsored electricity each day.
Separately, al-Shibani said at a press conference that the Syrian authorities should establish a joint committee to prepare a “international conference” to discuss the future of the country.
He added that the interim officials had intended to hold a meeting in early January, but instead, “we decided to form a planning committee” that will meet on an unspecified date.
The committee “will include men and women…