International flights resumed at Syria's main airport in Damascus on Tuesday for the first time since Islamist-led rebels toppled President Bashar al-Assad last month, AFP journalists said.
Excitement was in the air at the Damascus airport, where an AFP correspondent saw passengers arriving from Qatar chanting and cheering with some draped in Syria's three-star independence flag.
"Today marks a new beginning," Damascus airport director Anis Fallouh told AFP.
"We started welcoming outbound and inbound international flights," he said, adding that the first flight was bound for Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
The first Qatari commercial flight in nearly 13 years landed in Damascus at around 1:00 pm (10:00 GMT).
A Syrian Airlines flight bound for Sharjah took off at around 11:45 am (0845 GMT), marking the first international commercial flight from the airport since December 8, AFP correspondents said.
Syria's three-star independence flag, long associated with opposition to Assad and which the new authorities have adopted, was painted on the plane.