Turkish Airlines to resume flights to Damascus after 13 years of war - Bilal Eksi, CEO of the national carrier, confirmed the news on X

Officials say that Turkish Airlines will resume its flights to Damascus, Syria, next week after a halt of more than a decade.

A young gorilla rescued from a plane’s cargo hold is recovering at an Istanbul zoo, officials said Sunday, while wildlife officers consider returning him to his natural habitat.

Türkiye's national flag carrier on Thursday said it would not carry Israeli and Iranian citizens on its flights to Syria, per directives from

Turkish Airlines will resume flights to Syria's capital Damascus later this month, CEO Bilal Eksi said Wednesday on X. Flights to Damascus will begin on Jan. 23, with three per week, he added. Turkish Airlines suspended all flights to Syria following the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.

Germany's Lufthansa Group is set to resume flights to and from Tel Aviv in Israel from Feb. 1 and Wizz Air restarted its London to Tel Aviv route on Thursday, the companies said following a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.

Many airlines that have suspended operations in Israel have chosen to save their slots, but the predicament of Turkish Airlines is slightly different.

Turkish Airlines has announced that it will not carry Israeli and Iranian nationals on its flights to Damascus, according to a statement published on its website on Thursday. The airline revealed earlier this week that it would launch flights to Damascus from 23 January, with a schedule of three flights per week.

A baby gorilla discovered last month while transiting through Istanbul is recovering with wildlife rescuers in Turkey.

As Turkey restarts flights to Damascus with some restrictions, its consulate in Aleppo is set to resume operations next week.

Turkish Airlines will resume its flights to Damascus, Syria, next week after a halt of more than a decade, officials said Wednesday following a visit by a delegation of Syria’s new, Turkey-backed rulers.

Turkish Airlines halted Israel operations with the outbreak of the war in October 2023. Even so the airline has decided to save its flight slots at Ben Gurion airport. In the aviation industry, slots - reserved times for takeoffs and landings at airports - are an expensive and valuable resource - and one of an airline's most important assets.