A Syrian Air passenger plane landed on Wednesday at Aleppo's civilian airport, the first scheduled flight to touch down in the country's war-devastated economic hub for eight years.
The reopening of the airport comes days after the Russian-backed Syrian army said it had seized rural areas northwest of Aleppo, a major strategic gain in weeks of bombing of the last rebel bastion in northwestern Syria.
Government officials hope the resumption of commercial flights will help revive economic activity in the city, which was the scene of some of the most vicious fighting of the war between 2012 and 2016. Rebel-held eastern Aleppo was regained by government forces in 2016.