Syria's government has agreed to allow planes from regional aviation giant Qatar Airways to fly over the country after eight years of conflict kept its planes at bay, AFP reported.
"Transport Minister Ali Hammoud has agreed to allow Qatar Airways to cross Syrian airspace, based on a request from the Qatari civil aviation authority," the ministry said late Monday (April 22nd) in a statement.
Most airlines stopped flying over Syria after war broke out in 2011, due to security concerns, instead taking longer routes to circumvent the war zone.
But the conflict has largely wound down in recent years after major regime advances.
"The agreement came on the principle of reciprocity, as SyrianAir crosses Qatari airspace and never stopped flying to Doha throughout the war," it said.
The use of Syrian airspace would see "increased revenues in hard currency for the benefit of the Syrian state", it added.
