Airport to reopen in Syria’s second city Aleppo

The airport in Syria’s second city Aleppo is set to reopen next week, the state news agency reported Saturday, after it was shut during the offensive that toppled Bashar al-Assad.

“The Syrian Civil Aviation Authority announced the resumption of operations at Aleppo International Airport starting Tuesday, March 18,” .

“The airport is ready to receive flights, after the completion of all technical and administrative preparations,” the authority said.

The reopening of the airport in the northern city will see the arrival of domestic and international flights, the authority said, adding that it welcomes all airlines wishing to operate flights to the facility.

The authority’s head of communications, Mustafa Kaj, said that  the airport had been closed “due to the fighting that erupted during the liberation of the airport.”

He added that it was later vandalized, noting that rehabilitation took time “particularly as the damage affected some of the infrastructure, such as control tower communications, runway lighting, and security screening equipment.”

Kaj added that both domestic and international flights would land at the airport during the reopening, but did not specify which international airline would make the first landing.

International flights resumed in January at Syria’s main airport in Damascus for the first time since an opposition coalition toppled Assad the previous month.