
(Photo credit: Planet Labs PBC via AP)
The Syrian Ministry of Transport announced the reopening of Aleppo International Airport and the resumption of flights on 9 September, after the completion of repair works following the Israeli airstrikes on the facility this week.
In a statement, the ministry said that the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority had repaired the damages caused by the Israeli strikes in coordination with state companies, adding that flights would resume at noon.
The statement also said that the airport will do its utmost in order to be able to serve travelers around the clock.
Israel regularly carries out illegal airstrikes in Syria on what it claims to be Iranian or Hezbollah targets, most recently on 6 September when Israeli warplanes launched a missile attack on the Aleppo International Airport for the second time in just a week.
Syrian air defense systems in Latakia intercepted some of the incoming missiles, resulting in loud explosions across the region.
Just a week earlier, Israeli jets struck Aleppo International Airport and Damascus International Airport on the same night, with the attacks taking place just an hour apart from each other.
This marked the first time since the beginning of the conflict that Israel targeted both airports on the same day. One day after the attack, Syrian Foreign Minister Faysal Mikdad warned Israel that it “is playing with fire.”
On 25 August, Israel’s air force targeted the vicinity of Masyaf city in the western Hama countryside. However, Syria’s air defense systems managed to down nearly half of the Israeli missiles, a Russian official said a day after the attack.
Just a few days ago, US President Joe Biden assured Israeli officials that it has Washington’s backing in striking targets within Syria, as well as Iran, even in the event of a revival of the nuclear deal under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Biden’s words suggest that Tel Aviv will continue to violate Syrian sovereignty with impunity.