Daily Times

International flights resumed at Syria’s main airport in Damascus on Tuesday for the first time since Islamist-led forces toppled president Bashar al-Assad last month. There was an air of excitement at the terminal, AFP journalists saw, with arriving passengers chanting and cheering, some draped in the country’s three-star independence flag. Syrians carrying colourful balloons and flowers greeted passengers who arrived on the first Qatari commercial flight in nearly 13 years, which landed at around 1:00 pm (10:00 GMT). Some of the passengers knelt down to kiss the ground. “I’m waiting for my brother, who I haven’t seen in 17 years. He couldn’t return… because of the regime,” Reem Taghleb, 37, told AFP. “He took the first opportunity to return to Syria on the first Qatari plane,” she added, with emotion in her voice. “We’re so happy for his return, and for our country’s freedom.” A Syrian Airlines plane bound for Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates took off at around 11:45 am, marking the first international commercial flight from the airport since December 8, AFP correspondents said. The three-star flag, long associated with opposition to Assad and which the new authorities have adopted, was painted on the plane.