Ukrainian airplane takes first flight to Syria among European airways after years of suspension
Kyiv-based ariline Autolux launched its first trip to Syria
An Ukrainian airplane arrived Sunday in Syria‘s coastal city of Latakia, marking the first European flight to land in the war-torn country since 2012, Reuters reports.
With only ten passengers onboard the Boeing 737, the Kyiv-based airline Autolux launched its first trip to Syria, despite the European Union sanctions and the security situation in Syria.
“We took only ten passengers because we didn’t know how we would be and we need to check everything before taking people up here,” an Autolux staff member named Elizaveta told CCTV at the Bassel al-Assad international airport, which serves Latakia.
Sunday’s flight will be followed by one flight each week from Kyiv to Latakia and vice versa, and the company also provided the Syrians inside the country with transit service in Kiev and continuous flights to other parts of the world, mainly to Russia and the United States.
The move is considered as a first step toward re-establishing foreign flights into embattled country, where traveling has become a troublesome experience for the majority of Syrians, who have to drive to Beirut, Lebanon to travel to their destinations in other parts of the world.
“The love for my homeland has driven me to come along on the trip. I miss my country so much: it is five years since I last came here,” said Youssef Saleh, a Syrian expat in Ukraine. Saleh added he would bring his family along the next time.
Even though the Syrians who want to have a transit in Kiev must have valid transit visa to Ukraine, the Ukrainian embassy in Syria promised to make facilitations for the Syrians to encourage them to travel on this airlines.
The Syrian government has recently encouraged other local airways to start trips to nearby countries, a move aims to facilitate the traveling process for the Syrians.
The Syrian National Airways now offer flights to a small number of countries, such as to some of the Gulf States, Egypt, and Russia.
UT UKRAINE TODAY