The first passenger aircraft departed from Syria bound for the UAE on Sunday as aviation links restarted between the two countries, the Syrian state news agency Sana said in a post on X.

The Airbus A320-212 from Syria's national carrier Syrian Air left the capital city of Damascus just after 7am, according to online flight tracker, FlightRadar 24.

Dubai Airports reported the plane landed in Dubai at 12:39pm.

It was already announced last week that Syrian Air would resume direct flights to Dubai and Sharjah from Sunday.

The airline said it was working “to add more flights as soon as possible, once we receive the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities”.

The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority announced the resumption of flights between the Emirates and Syria on April 14. It came after Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara visited the UAE for the first time since taking office.

Countries had suspended flights to and from Syria during the civil war, but some airlines restarted services since former president Bashar Al Assad was ousted last year.

This decision came after Mr Al Shara visited the UAE on Sunday for the first time since taking office.