International commercial flights have resumed at Damascus airport, for the first time since the ouster of Basshar al Assad by Islamist-led rebels. Some of the Syrians waiting to welcome their loved ones home had spent more than a decade apart from each other.

Syria’s Damascus Airport have resumed international flight operations for the first time since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime

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.

The US on Monday eased some restrictions on Syria's government to allow for humanitarian aid. The US Treasury had issued a sanctions exemption for six months to "support the Syrian people as they build a more hopeful,

The first international commercial flight since the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad landed at Damascus airport on Jan. 7.

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.