Qatar Airways Returns to Syria – Which Airlines Could Follow?
Skift Take
While these are very early days, the return of Qatar Airways to Damascus could tempt other international carriers to put the Syrian capital back on the route map.
A little piece of normality returned to Damascus on Tuesday afternoon. Qatar Airways flight QR410 touched down in the Syrian capital just before 1 p.m. local time, heralding the start of a new three-times weekly service from Doha.
The flight marks the first scheduled passenger flight by a large international airline since the collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in late November. Before the start of Syria’s civil war in 2012, more than a dozen big-name carriers – including Qatar Airways – served Damascus.
The company said its decision to restart operations “reflects [a] commitment to fostering regional connectivity and supporting passenger demand.”
It is also likely that geopolitical and diplomatic efforts have played
