Syria’s Main Airport Handles First International Flights Since Fall of Assad Regime

Syria’s main airport hosted its first international flights on Tuesday since the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad’s government last month, as new leaders push to restore normalcy to the war-weary country.

One Qatar Airways flight landed following a direct flight from Doha to the Syrian capital, Damascus. Jordan’s Civil Aviation Authority announced that it had sent the first flight to Damascus on Tuesday morning as a “message of support” to its northern neighbor, the first flight there by its national carrier in 13 years.

Another plane affiliated with a Syrian airline took off on Tuesday for the United Arab Emirates carrying 145 passengers, according to Syrian state media. A video shared by Syrian media showed people on board waving Syrian flags and singing nationalist songs.

Syria’s new Islamist leaders have pledged to convene a committee to draft a comprehensive constitution. They urged civil servants to return to work to make government machinery work, and stressed that Syria no longer poses a threat to its neighbors.

But the country remains under a number of international sanctions imposed during Mr al-Assad’s regime. And the new interim government is headed by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which many countries have designated as a terrorist group because of its long-standing ties to Al Qaeda, although it split from the group a few years ago.

Western leaders responded to the new administration with a mixture of optimism and caution, fearing that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham could impose an Islamic state on the country or create a new wave of domestic unrest. They called for an inclusive political revolution.

“Europe will support you, but Europe will not be the protector of new Islamist groups,” said Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s foreign minister, during a visit to Damascus last week.

Sanctions are one of the biggest hurdles for the new Syrian government as it tries to chart a way forward. As soon as Mr. al-Assad fled the country in December, one of the first requests from Ahmed al-Shara, the leader of the rebel coalition that toppled the government, was for the United States and others to begin easing restrictions.

On Monday, the Biden administration lifted some restrictions on humanitarian aid to Syria. Still, it maintained strong sanctions, showing how Western governments are adjusting their approach to new leaders.

Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, Syria’s new foreign minister, welcomed the Biden administration’s decision to loosen restrictions. Mr al-Shibani and other newly appointed Syrian officials were on a regional tour to reassure Arab countries wary of the rise of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, including the United Arab Emirates.

At a press conference in Jordan on Tuesday after a meeting with Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister, he called for the remaining sanctions to be lifted immediately, saying the fall of Mr al-Assad had removed any reason to keep them in place.

“Those economic sanctions are now being applied to the Syrian people, as the reason they were imposed is gone,” said Mr al-Shibani. “They should have been withdrawn as soon as the previous regime was overthrown.”

Syria and Jordan have agreed to establish a joint commission to deal with security on their shared border, Mr. Safadi. Jordan has long expressed concern about the smuggling of weapons and drugs into Syrian territory, particularly captagon, an illegal stimulant that was smuggled in by close associates of Mr al-Assad.

Mr al-Shibani has promised that Syria’s new government will crack down on drug trafficking, which analysts say is funneling huge profits into the coffers of senior officials in Mr al-Assad’s government.

The threat of smuggling “will not return and we are ready to cooperate more on this matter,” said Mr al-Shibani.