Commercial Plane from Türkiye Lands in Damascus for 1st Time in 13 Years

A Turkish Airlines aircraft carrying a diplomatic delegation from Ankara and an aid shipment provided by the Turkish Red Crescent, lands at the Damascus International Airport in the Syrian capital on January 23, 2025. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)

A commercial plane from Türkiye landed in Damascus for the first time in 13 years on Thursday, Syrian state media said.
The Turkish Airlines plane flew from Istanbul to the Syrian capital, SANA reported, two weeks after the first international commercial flight landed, from Qatar, since former Syrian President Bashar Assad’s fall.
Ankara backed opposition groups in northwestern Syria that fought against Assad and his allies during the uprising-turned-conflict and never restored ties, even when most Mideast countries did in 2023.
Now Türkiye, a key ally of the new authorities under Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has expressed its intention to invest in Syria’s economy and help its ailing electricity and energy sectors.