BAGHDAD -- Iraqi Airways will resume flights to neighboring Syria on Saturday after more than eight years of suspension, a spokesman said Thursday.

Iraqi Airways will operate its first flight on May 18 to the Syrian capital of Damascus, with an official delegation on board to inaugurate the resumption of operations of Iraqi aircraft on the Baghdad-Damascus route after eight years, Iraqi Airways spokesman Layth al-Rubaie told Xinhua.

"There will be one flight per week as a start, but the flights can be increased as needed," al-Rubaie said.

The Baghdad-Damascus air route is vital to both countries because there is a large community of Iraqis in Syria, in addition to the large volume of trade between the two countries, he noted.

Iraqi Airways suspended flights to Syria since the Syrian conflict erupted in March 2011 in which anti-government demonstrations ignited a bloody civil war that killed hundreds of thousands of people.