Turkish Airlines resumes flights to Syria after 13-year hiatus

Flag carrier Turkish Airlines is resuming service to Syria on Friday with an Istanbul-Damascus flight after halting operations in 2012, due to the country's civil war, which lasted over a dozen years.

Many Syrians voiced joy at returning to their homeland after years of exile. Some were seen carrying flags from December's Syrian revolution, which saw the Assad regime quickly fall.

Nearly 350 passengers boarded the flight to Damascus International Airport after doing ticket and passport checks.

Passenger Fatma Zehra told reporters that she had come to Türkiye when she was only 2 years old, and was very excited to return along with her family to her homeland where she was born.

Now 14 years old, Zehra said: "I've never seen my country. I'm so excited to see it for the first time. We will be going from Damascus to Aleppo. I'll see my grandmother there."

Some 4 million Syrians took refuge in neighboring Türkiye during the war, more than any other country.

Ahmet Kiraz, another passenger, said he came to Türkiye in 2012, built a life by studying and working, and never expected to return to Syria.

"We thought we would never go back," he said. "But when the opportunity came, we were so happy. I'm returning to my country on the first flight, it feels like a dream."

The Turkish Airlines flight, which left Istanbul Airport at 0900GMT, is expected to land at Damascus International Airport after a short two-hour flight.