Shortly before the first domestic flight since Bashar al-Assad’s fall landed at Aleppo International Airport late on Wednesday morning, the final preparations were still being made. Workers rushed to remove about a dozen empty ammunition boxes, gas masks and helmets from a grassy patch next to the runway.

When the Syrian Air flight from Damascus landed, more than an hour behind schedule, it was greeted by a large crowd of journalists and a phalanx of security personnel, including police officers and civil defence workers, standing by in case anything went wrong.

But its arrival was otherwise smooth — a sign, the rebels who ousted Assad as President 10 days ago hope, that Syria’s new transitional government will be able to run the country. As part of that, they hope to provide war-weary civilians with basic services, including domestic and international flights.

“We consider this a big accomplishment — we are coming to rebuild this country,” said Anas Rustum, who was appointed to oversee the Aleppo airport by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the rebel group that led the offensive against the Assad government.

New York Times News Service