The first plane to leave Damascus International Airport in Syria since the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad took off this morning for Aleppo, 10 days after Assad himself had to rush a plane to flee to exile in Russia, once the Kremlin granted him ‘for humanitarian reasons’.
According to international media reports, the plane – an Airbus belonging to Syrian Air – took off for Aleppo with 43 passengers on board, including several journalists.
Both the plane and the airport facilities now display the country’s new flag, which was adopted by the Syrian revolution and includes three stars instead of the two stars of the previous official flag, adopted in 1980 by the Assad family dictatorship. The new 3-star flag, by contrast, is inspired by the 1932 flag used by the Syrian Republic after its independence from France.
Since Assad fled the capital in the early hours of 8 December in the face of the advancing rebel offensive, no aircraft had taken off or landed at Damascus airport until this morning.
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Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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