CRI听力:Syria-Ukrain Flight Opens

Syria has welcomed its first commercial flight from Europe in three years.

A flight from the Ukrainian capital Kiev arrived in the government-held coastal city of Latakia on Sunday.

The flight will run weekly and is operated by a Ukrainian-Syrian firm Autolux.

Michel Haddad, the director of a private university in Syria, said the journey between Latakia and Kiev is better than the current route out of Syria through neighboring Lebanon.

"The facility of movement from Latakia airport to Kiev airport is better than going through Beirut and having to stop on the border and go through a lot of hassle. The road and the hotels are expensive there so going directly is better, even to go to Europe directly through Kiev is safer and better and there is a huge Syrian community in Ukraine."

Only 10 passengers arrived in Syria on the flight with return tickets costing around $600 per person.

The flight stayed in Latakia for two hours before returning to Kiev.

Syria has been ravaged by civil war since 2011.