Ten days after the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria, flag carrier Syrianair (RB, Damascus) restarted domestic operations with a flight from Damascus to Aleppo on December 18, 2024.
A320-200 YK-AKH (msn 1416) carried a contingent of journalists and politicians, and also paying customers. The 23.9-year-old aircraft was slightly repainted to reflect the new political landscape in the country, with the flag used by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebels replacing the previous banner on the wingtips and fuselage.
The airline operated a single roundtrip on the key domestic route but did not announce any further plans. Six of its seven remaining A320-200s remain parked at Damascus, the seventh in Kuwait. Both A340-300s are also inactive, one each at the Syrian gateway airport and Tehran Imam Khomeini.
Meanwhile, the authorities issued a Notice to Air Personnel (NOTAM) indicating that all flights to and from Damascus will remain subject to individual "special permissions" issued by the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) until at least December 24, 2024. An airport official anonymously told Al Jazeera that international flights are currently poised to restart on that day when the necessary maintenance works are completed.
Damascus and the entire Syrian airspace were closed abruptly on December 8, when the government of Bashar al-Assad collapsed. The new authorities reopened the airspace on December 15, albeit only to overflights.
Privately-owned Cham Wings Airlines (SAW, Damascus) previously planned to resume international operations to Moscow Sheremetyevo on December 18, but in light of the ongoing restrictions on international operations the relaunch has been deferred.
