Live updates: Follow the latest on Syria
A test flight that took off from the Syrian capital Damascus landed in the northern city of Aleppo on Wednesday morning, as officials urged a lifting of sanctions to allow Syria's aviation sector to function again.
Workers and security troops from the new Hayat Tahrir Al Sham-led government, watched as a delegation of officials, journalists and volunteers landed at Aleppo International Airport on an Airbus A320 operated by national carrier Syrian Air. It was the first journey by air in Syria since former president Bashar Al Assad fled the country on December 8.
The former Syrian flag used by the Assad regime on the plane's winglets had been painted over with the three-star emblem used by the opposition to his former government. "I have never been on a plane before - I can't describe how this feels," 18-year-old civil society volunteer Hassan Hamoudi told The National as he stepped off the plane, carrying a large three-starred flag used by the Syrian opposition.
Airport officials have been working since rebels took the airport from pro-regime troops at the end of November as they swept into Aleppo, the first main city they took from Mr Al Assad. There was evidence of fighting at the airport, including bullet holes in the glass windows of the departures hall and pockmarked concrete walls. However, much of the site had been cleared up and the runway repaved by volunteers from Syria's civil defence force, known as the White Helmets after their signature hardhats, who were also on the tarmac to see in the first plane.
Similar to other places across Aleppo, large posters of Mr Al Assad adorning the airport had been torn down, or had the former president's face ripped from them.
“We’ve just reopened,” said Ali Rifai, a public relations official for Syria’s new caretaker transitional government, after the flight took off from Damascus. “Thank God this was possible with our combined efforts with the old Syrian cadre,” Mr Rifai said, referring to airport staff who returned to work following the formation of the caretaker government. “All is going well.”
"This is a test flight, to ensure the readiness of the airports," Ahmed Al Renjbari, the airport's director, told The National. "As the situation becomes more secure, we will hopefully be able to operate the airport at full capacity. The technical and administrative workers are all ready."
Aleppo's airport dates back to the French Mandate period in Syria, and the current terminal was inaugurated in 1999, during Hafez Al Assad's rule in Syria. After being closed during major fighting in Aleppo, flights began operating again in 2020 on various airlines to destinations including Beirut, Tehran's Imam Khomeini airport and Erbil in Iraq's Kurdistan region.
Israeli air strikes hit the airport and the surrounding area several times in recent years, due to significant alleged Iranian weapons transfers passing through the site.
"This was a military base for the regime, so when we came, we fixed and repaired the runway so civilian aircraft can land here," Youssef Azza, a director in the Syrian civil defence force, told The National. He said that his teams had found rooms with equipment used by former pro-regime forces upon arrival, but not in large quantities. "They fled from here. There were a few remnants of war here, and we cleared them up," he added.
Captain Ali Rida, a pilot for 30 years, flew the plane from Damascus on Wednesday and said he had been able to maintain standard operating procedures throughout. As he spoke, the plane was preparing to take off back to the Syrian capital, to ensure the return journey could be completed without issues.
Standing proudly on the tarmac after landing the flight, Captain Ali told The National that in his 30 years working as a pilot, the biggest obstacle has been sanctions imposed on Syria's aviation sector.
"Of our 16 planes in the Syrian Air fleet, only two are operating," he said. "Eighty per cent of our fleet is grounded, because of sanctions. Hopefully the sanctions will be lifted and the fleet will return to its original size, and even larger. Now, I'm not sure we will have flights every day, but gradually the flight slots will fill up. It will be domestic flights, then move to international flights."
A senior technical official said sanctions have grounded many planes because engineers have been forced to take spare parts from aircraft to keep a couple running. “Repairing the planes was extremely hard. We would take spare parts from the other aircraft to put them in the two planes to operate them," Youssef Al Khalil, a Syrian Air technical engineer who was onboard the first flight, told The National.
"The first step from the international community needs to be lifting the sanctions on Syria, so we can repair the planes and buy new ones.” Syria's airports have long been tied up in bureaucracy, and the new rulers are very much in the stage of transferring the powers of the former regime into new structures. The arriving delegation aside, the airport was empty, bar a few armed HTS fighters guarding the doors of the building.
According to Nour, an Interior Ministry immigration official sitting in the passport hall, Syria's new authorities are planning to remove a $100 "arrival fee" that Syrian citizens used to have to pay on arrival at the airport from international destinations. The fee was charged in Syrian pounds at the central bank rate, adding a significant financial burden to citizens wishing to travel abroad and return home.
Nour, who gave only his first name, had been employed at the airport throughout the former regime's rule and hoped that the site would function more efficiently under its new rulers.
"There will be a new electronic visa system for foreigners, there will be an online link where they can apply," he told The National through freshly-cleaned glass at passport control. Captain Ali Rida hopes that international flights will start again soon - both to serve Syrians and so he can once again fly to destinations across Europe and the Gulf that he used to serve.
"We want to get back to our international destinations. I used to fly to London and Manchester. I am missing my layover in the UK," he said, with a big smile.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
WWE Super ShowDown results
Seth Rollins beat Baron Corbin to retain his WWE Universal title
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Shane McMahon defeated Roman Reigns
Lars Sullivan won by disqualification against Lucha House Party
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Kofi Kingston wins against Dolph Zigggler to retain the WWE World Heavyweight Championship
Mansoor Al Shehail won the 50-man Battle Royal
The Undertaker beat Goldberg
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Levante v Real Mallorca (12am)
Leganes v Barcelona (4pm)
Real Betis v Valencia (7pm)
Granada v Atletico Madrid (9.30pm)
Sunday
Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (12am)
Espanyol v Getafe (3pm)
Osasuna v Athletic Bilbao (5pm)
Eibar v Alaves (7pm)
Villarreal v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)
Monday
Real Valladolid v Sevilla (12am)
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
How England have scored their set-piece goals in Russia
Three Penalties
v Panama, Group Stage (Harry Kane)
v Panama, Group Stage (Kane)
v Colombia, Last 16 (Kane)
Four Corners
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via John Stones header, from Ashley Young corner)
v Tunisia, Group Stage (Kane, via Harry Maguire header, from Kieran Trippier corner)
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, header, from Trippier corner)
v Sweden, Quarter-Final (Maguire, header, from Young corner)
One Free-Kick
v Panama, Group Stage (Stones, via Jordan Henderson, Kane header, and Raheem Sterling, from Tripper free-kick)
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Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
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In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
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Profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
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RESULTS
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