Syria-Saudi Hajj flight resumed after an era

Last Updated on May 29, 2024 8:47 am

Direct Hajj flights from Syria to Saudi Arabia have been launched after a century. On Tuesday, the first Hajj flight with 270 pilgrims left from Damascus International Airport in Rajdhani to Saudi Jeddah.

Suleiman Khalil, an official of the Syrian Ministry of Transport, confirmed this information to AFP. He said, more flights will come and go in the coming days.

It is known that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad visited Riyadh after 13 years to attend the Arab League conference in May 2023. He held several meetings with Saudi leaders during that visit. After his visit, Riyadh-Damascus agreed to restore diplomatic relations. However, even after reaching a consensus, Riyadh has not sent any ambassador to Damascus.

On Sunday, Riyadh announced that it will soon send an ambassador to Damascus. Then Hajj flights started from Tuesday.

Suleiman Khalil told AFP that after being suspended in 2012, direct Hajj flights between the two countries are starting again from Tuesday. For now, this flight will operate only during Hajj. Discussions are going on between us and the Saudi officials whether his arrest can be retained even after the end of the Hajj.

Incidentally, since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2009, Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the government led by President Bashar al-Assad has started to cool. During his administration, diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed, and direct flights were also stopped.