Turkish Airlines has resumed flights to Syria after an 11-year hiatus, following the suspension of services in 2012 due to the outbreak of the civil war.
The first flight from Istanbul to Damascus took off on Thursday, bringing many Syrians home after years of exile. Onboard were at least 350 passengers, some proudly waving the Syrian flag.
Fatma Zehra, a passenger, shared her excitement about returning to her homeland. She had moved to Turkey at just two years old and was thrilled to finally visit Syria, a country she had never seen before. Now 14, Zehra said, “I’m so excited to see it for the first time. We’ll be heading to Aleppo from Damascus to visit my grandmother.”
Since the start of the civil war, around 4 million Syrians sought refuge in Turkey. Ahmet Kiraz, another passenger, described his journey: having come to Turkey in 2012, he built a life through studying and working. He never imagined he would return to Syria, saying, “We thought we would never go back, but now the opportunity has come. It feels like a dream to return on the first flight.”
The resumption of flights marks a significant step as relations between Turkey and Syria begin to slowly shift after years of conflict.
