Aleppo, Syria (CNN) — Journalists often get invited on tours of battle zones during wars, but the one the Syrian government organized for CNN and several other media outlets Wednesday was more than bizarre.
We had been told we were going on a trip to the front line in Damascus. Instead, we were driven to an airfield and packed into an old Soviet-made Yakovlev YAK-40 aircraft. It wasn’t until we were in the air that government officials on the flight finally offered up some information.
«We are going to Aleppo,» one said with a smile. He told reporters that ours would be the first civilian aircraft to land at the city’s international airport since December 2012, when the airfield was shut because of heavy clashes in the area.
We sat still, slightly nervous about the guinea pig role we had been thrust into by the government, as our pilot performed a spectacular combat landing on a foggy day. As the aircraft taxied toward the terminal we finally realized that we were the news of the day. A live transmission vehicle and dozens of reporters were waiting to greet us as Syrian government TV carried the live banner proclaiming «The reopening of Aleppo Airport and the landing of a commercial flight.»
