Syria's aviation comeback struggles amid regional turmoil

Zawya

5 days ago

DAMASCUS - Poor infrastructure, regional conflict and sporadic Israeli airstrikes are holding back more airlines from returning to Syria, industry officials told Reuters, hampering efforts to rebuild a shattered economy after 14 years of civil war.
This month, at least 11 foreign airlines are scheduled to fly into Syria, up from just three a year ago, as sanctions are scaled back following the overthrow of long-time leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
These include the world's largest international carrier, Dubai's Emirates, and the first two European Union-based airlines to fly into Syria since 2011: Romania's Dan Air and Greece's Air Mediterranean.
But airlines such as Royal Jordanian, FlyDubai, Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways last month were forced to cancel many of their recently launched flights as airspace across the Middle East closed to civil air traffic due to air and missile attacks involving Israel, the U.S. and Iran.
There are dangers closer to home too. Israel carried out strikes against Syrian government forces in southwestern Syria for a second day on Tuesday, vowing to keep the area demilitarized and to protect the Druze minority there.
At the same time, airlines are worried about the state of Syria's aviation infrastructure and management of the industry.
"Progress is needed in regulatory oversight, infrastructure investment, and compliance with international safety and operational standards," industry body the International Air Transport Association said.
Major carriers such as Lufthansa and Air France KLM, which used to fly to Syria pre-war, have visited Damascus airport to assess the infrastructure and former offices, officials at Damascus airport and Syria's aviation regulator told Reuters.
However, both airlines told Reuters they had no current interest in resuming flights.
Small Romanian airline Dan Air launched its Bucharest to Damascus route last month.
"What held back operators until now were the logistical and regulatory complexities," Dan Air CEO Matt Ian David told Reuters, adding that eased sanctions would now make Syria more accessible.
Emirates at the end of May resumed flying over Syria for the first time since the civil war, shaving up to an hour off a Dubai to Beirut flight.
However, several countries, including Britain and the United States, still advise their airlines to avoid flying over Syria. Europe's aviation regulator EASA says "there is a risk of both intentional targeting and misidentification of civil aircraft".
Syria completely reopened its airspace on June 24, its civil air authority said.
Damascus Airport's two runways were bombed during the civil war, but have been repaired. The airport was also looted during the chaos of Assad's fall.
Alaa Sallal, director of public relations at Syria's Civil Aviation Authority, told Reuters a number of airlines had been to inspect security and infrastructure at the airport.
"The airport's construction was dilapidated, the equipment was worn out and some missing," Sallal said.
Radar equipment was lacking, leaving the country reliant on Lebanese or Turkish radar to monitor air traffic, he said.
The head of Syria's General Authority for Civil Aviation earlier this month said it wanted to build new airports in Damascus, Aleppo and in the country's central region. But that will take time and money that the war-ravaged country may struggle to find on its own.
NEW AIRLINES
The mostly Iranian and Iraqi carriers that served Syria through its long conflict have largely stopped flying there, reflecting a new political landscape after Iran- and Russia-backed Assad's overthrow.
The flag carriers of Qatar and Turkey, countries that backed Syria's rebels through the war, were the first big airlines to resume flights in January under President Ahmed al-Sharaa's new leadership.
Turkey, a close ally of the new government, has been helping improve Syria's airports, its transport ministry has said.
Emirates, which resumes its Dubai-Damascus route from Wednesday for the first time since 2012, said flights would support ties with the United Arab Emirates and help Syria attract investment.
Saudi budget carrier flyadeal has said it also wants to start flying to Syria soon, joining fellow Saudi low-cost airline flynas.
For others, though, there may be less incentive to return as even pre-war Syria was not a major market for non-Middle Eastern carriers. Those that did fly there - Russia's Aeroflot, Air France, Lufthansa's Austrian Airways, LOT Polish, IAG's Iberia, Italy's ITA, Czech Airlines, and China Southern - have not yet returned.
Despite the recent ramp-up, the number of international flights serving Syria remains well below pre-war levels. Scheduled flights in July were 58% of what they were in July 2010, Cirium data shows.
IATA said the easing of sanctions had opened pathways to improved access to aircraft parts, maintenance services and some commercial transactions. However, visa restrictions on Syrian nationals limited passenger mobility and market growth.
(Reporting by Mohamed Firas Al Daalati in Damascus, Suleiman al-Khalidi in Jordan, Lisa Barrington in Seoul, Joanna Plucinska in London. Editing by Mark Potter)