LONDON: The first Syrian Airlines flight from Berlin in more than 14 years landed at Damascus International Airport on Tuesday, as the national flag carrier resumed its direct service connecting the German and Syrian capitals.

Omar Hosari, president of the General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport, said the flight marked a milestone in the revival of services between the Syrian Arab Republic and European destinations, and enhanced direct air connections between Syria and the EU cities, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.

Syrian Airlines halted flights to Europe in July 2012, during the civil war in the country that began in 2011 and ended in December 2024 with the fall of President Bashar Assad and his regime in the face of an opposition advance.

About 1 million Syrians settled in Germany after fleeing the war. Two German airlines introduced flights to Germany this summer: Leav Aviation launched a Dusseldorf-Damascus route in July, and Sundair began direct flights between Berlin and Damascus the following month.

Major international airlines canceled all flights to Syria in the early stages of the civil war, effectively isolating the country from the rest of the world. Syrians who wanted to travel abroad during the conflict had to travel overland to airports in Lebanon or Jordan.