Damascus, Syria – Syria’s national airline is struggling to stay airborne with only three planes left in its fleet, according to the head of the country’s Civil Aviation Authority, Ashhad Al-Suleibi.
Speaking on Friday, Al-Suleibi admitted the airline’s tiny fleet is holding back efforts to expand destinations and reconnect Syria with the world.
To keep flights running, the Syrian airline has resorted to leasing an extra aircraft as a temporary solution, with plans to rent more planes soon.
Meanwhile, the government is pushing ahead with ambitious plans to upgrade the entire civil aviation sector. This includes building new airports and expanding the national carrier’s fleet to serve more routes.
Al-Suleibi pointed out that Aleppo International Airport suffered extensive damage during the battles that brought down the former regime, making it impossible to modernize or expand the site. Instead, the government is now looking at building a brand-new airport for Aleppo.
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A similar plan is in the works for Damascus, where a new, modern international airport is part of a broader strategy to improve air travel infrastructure in the country’s central region.
However, reconnecting Syria with Europe won’t happen overnight. Al-Suleibi said resuming flights to European airports will require technical and administrative arrangements that could take several months, especially with sanctions still complicating operations despite promises to ease them.
In a sign of cautious progress, Syria and Turkey have agreed to install advanced radar systems at airports in Damascus, Aleppo, and Deir ez-Zor in the coming months.
Just this week, the Civil Aviation Authority announced that Syria’s airspace has reopened for flights after a brief closure due to recent tensions between Israel and Iran.
Syria had closed its skies on June 18 because of the regional escalation but says all air corridors are now back to normal.
