The management of Aleppo airport, which resumed servicing international flights after the war, expects the opening of flights with Moscow, Mohammed al-Masri, director of the air hub, told reporters.
"We are ready to accept any aircraft. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, flights between Damascus and Moscow were closed, but now they have resumed. We hope to have an Aleppo-Moscow flight as well," al-Masri said.
On January 15, flights between Aleppo and Beirut and Aleppo began once a week by Syrian private airline Cham Wings Airlines after a decade-long break. Air service to the Iraqi city of Erbil resumed Wednesday, with the first airliner of Iraqi private airline Fly Bagdad landing at Aleppo International Airport, located in the suburb of Neirab.
"We feel we have won. The militants didn't want our airport to work. But we did, with the help of our Syrian army and friends," the airport director added. He noted that over the years of war, the airport has managed to retain its former team of employees.
Local resident Elena Ait, who was born in Moscow, is confident that she will soon be able to visit Russia. "My mother is from Moscow. But it's hard [to get to Russia]," she explained.
Passengers at the airport note that peaceful life in Syria is gradually being restored. "There are no more explosions, no more shooting. Now it's a matter of restoring the economy. We have to work harder to raise the economy of the country," Abed Shami, who flew to Aleppo from Dubai, told reporters.
Resumption of flights
The Syrian Civil Aviation Authority previously reported that Aleppo International Airport was reopened after the war by the Syrian authorities in 2020, but due to the coronavirus pandemic, flights were delayed. Along with Aleppo air hub, Latakia and Qamishli airports also reopened in December to facilitate the return of Syrian refugees from abroad.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS