Residents of Syria’s capital are picnicking on a once-forbidden mountaintop and trading openly in dollars and imported Nescafe. They say the city seems theirs again.

The first Qatari commercial flight in nearly 13 years landed in Damascus on Tuesday, AFP correspondents said, as international traffic resumed at Syria's main airport nearly a month after rebels toppled Bashar al-Assad.

The first international flight has landed in Syria since the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad last month. The flight from Qatar landed around 1pm at Damascus International Airport, according to AFP correspondents, the first from the Gulf state in 13 years.

On December 18, the first flight since Islamist-led rebels ousted Assad 10 days earlier took off from Damascus airport bound for Aleppo in the country's north, according to AFP journalists.

Passengers at Damascus airport hugged their families and cried with joy on Tuesday (January 7), as international flights resumed for the first time since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime last month.

Crowds of people were gathered to greet those arriving at Damascus airport, with several Syrians returning for the first time in years.

The first international commercial flight to Syria since the fall of Bashar Assad's government has landed in Damascus

The country’s new leaders are pushing to restore a sense of normalcy. But Syria remains under a host of international sanctions imposed during the Assad regime.

Syria’s Damascus airport to resume operating international flights Damascus airport in Syria will resume operating international flights. Qatar Airways plane will land for the first time after 13 years of suspension.

International flights resumed from Syria’s main airport in Damascus on Tuesday for the first time since rebels toppled president Bashar Al Assad last month. A Syrian Airlines flight with 145 passengers left the capital at about 11.