The newly installed government in Syria reopened the country's airspace to overflights on December 15, 2024, after a week-long closure. Minister of Transport Bahaa el-Din Sharm said the country's two main airports, Damascus and Aleppo, will reopen "in the coming days".
The Syrian Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) removed its Notice to Air Personnel (NOTAM) closing the entire airspace, replacing it with two separate NOTAMs for the main airports. It said that flights to both Aleppo and Damascus are currently possible, but only with "special permission from the SCAA".
MEA - Middle East Airlines (ME, Beirut) became the first airline to resume overflights of Syria on its eastbound departures from Beirut. The Lebanese Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ali Hamie, said on X that the decision was taken "after coordination with the International Civil Aviation Organization and Damascus [aviation authorities]", and called on other airlines - especially Iraqi Airways - to restart flights between Iraq and Lebanon.
ch-aviation analysis of Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows that as of December 15, all other airlines continue to avoid Syrian airspace.
The two active Syrian airlines, Syrianair and Cham Wings Airlines, remain grounded. The latter has tentatively pencilled in a restart for scheduled operations for December 18, when it plans to fly to Moscow Sheremetyevo.
Syrian airspace was closed immediately after the overthrow of the government of Bashar al-Assad by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebels on December 8.
The country's third active airport, Latakia, remains controlled by the Russian military and serves no civilian flights. Reuters reported that despite a significant withdrawal of troops, Russia is not leaving the facility following the collapse of its allied Syrian government.
