The first plane takes off from Damascus airport after the fall of Assad

Forty-three people, including journalists and administrative staff, board the Syrian Airbus plane bound for Aleppo.

The first plane since the fall of Bashar al-Assad on December 8 took off today from Damascus airport, heading to Aleppo, in northern Syria, from where the coalition offensive that occupied the country began.

Forty-three people, including journalists and administrative staff, boarded the plane on board the Syrian Air company's Airbus, according to AFP reporters.

The last flight from Damascus airport took place hours before the capital fell to HTS rebels. It was the leader of the ousted regime, Bashar al-Assad, who had boarded this plane to fly to the Russian Khmeimim base in western Syria.

The Syrian army and its government security forces then abandoned the airport, from which no flights have since departed.

This Monday, airport workers painted the 1946 Syrian flag with the three stars of Syrian independence, a symbol of the 2011 popular uprising against Bashar al-Assad that was endorsed by the new government, on planes owned by private company Cham Wings. This flag also replaced the old one used by the regime in the airport lounges. (A2 Televizion)