The Turkish national airline “Turkish Airlines“ today resumed its flights to Damascus after a 13-year hiatus due to the civil war there, the electronic edition of the Turkish newspaper “Hürriyet“ reports, BTA reported.
The carrier's first plane to Damascus took off this morning at 9:00 a.m. local time (8:00 a.m. Bulgarian time) from “Istanbul“ airport. The plane is expected to land in the Syrian capital in two hours.
A total of 349 excited passengers boarded the plane, “Hürriyet“ reported. Flights from Istanbul to Damascus will be operated three times a week (on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays), the Turkish television channel CNN-Turk notes.
The company “Turkish Airlines“ suspended its flights to Syria on April 1, 2012, the television channel recalls. On January 16, the general director of the airline, Bilal Ekşi, announced that the national carrier would start operating regular flights to Damascus from January 23.