Could the return of Qatar Airways to Damascus tempt other international airlines to put the Syrian capital back on the route map?

The national airline of Qatar has announced that it will resume weekly flights to Syria 13 years after cancelling operations. Qatar Airways will offer three weekly flights between Qatar and Damascus, Syria, from Tuesday (7 January). In 2011, flights by the carrier to and from Damascus and Aleppo were cancelled amid Syria’s civil war.

Qatar is planning to help finance a massive boost in public sector wages promised by Syria's new government, a U.S. official and a senior diplomat said, vital assistance to the new Islamist rulers in Damascus a month after they toppled Bashar al-Assad.

Turkey has a major role in Syria's reconstruction, and transport investments like railway links are on the agenda although Gulf money may prove vital. View on euronews

Qatar Airways announced on Thursday it will resume flights to the Syrian capital Damascus from next week. "Qatar Airways is pleased to announce the resumption of three weekly flights to Damascus, Syria, from 7 January 2025," the national flag carrier said in a statement.

Qatar was the second country, after Turkey, to reopen its embassy in the Syrian capital following the overthrow of the Assad government

The three times a week Damascus flights connect Syria to Qatar Airways’ network of more than 170 destinations via Doha

A Qatar Airways plane became the first to land at Damascus airport since the ousting of the government of former President Bashar al-Assad last month, as Syria’s interim leaders hope to reassert a semblance of normalcy in the country.

The clarification comes after reports surfaced suggesting that the Qatari national carrier had closed its offices in Pakistan as part of cost-cutting initiatives. However, Qatar Airways confirmed that these reports were false, emphasizing that their services in the country have not been affected.

Saudi Arabia and others are overlooking the new leadership’s jihadist past, hoping to gain an advantage on rivals in the strategically positioned country.

Qatar has been a staunch supporter of Syria’s erstwhile Opposition long before the fall of the now ousted president Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December. When rebel forces from Hay’at