Dubai-based airlines are resuming services to Syria after a gap of nearly 13 years as the Gulf states unite to support the war-torn country’s economic recovery.
Low-cost carrier Flydubai resumed operations to Syria, with the first flight landing at Damascus International Airport on Saturday, a move aimed at building ties between the UAE and Syria.
The return of Flydubai’s flights marks a promising step toward the full return of UAE national carriers to Syria, Dubai Media Office reported, quoting UAE’s Ambassador to the Syrian Arab Republic Hassan Ahmed Al Shehhi.
Hamad Obaidalla, chief commercial officer at Flydubai, said the airline will help in stimulating free flows of travel, trade and tourism between the two countries and will operate a daily service to Damascus.
Emirates will reintroduce flights to the Syrian capital from July 16 after undertaking a complete evaluation with the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority, it said in a statement.
Before suspending operations in 2012, the Dubai airline carried more than two million passengers in and out of Syria.
The airline will initially operate three weekly services, with plans to expand to four weekly flights starting in August. Emirates will expand its Damascus services to daily operations on October 26, the airline said in a statement.
The UAE and Syria’s trade volumes reached $680 million (AED2.5 billion) in 2024, a 23 percent increase year on year. The new flights will further stimulate trade ties, the airline said.
The UAE is home to more than 350,000 Syrians.
In a statement to Syrian state-run news agency Sana, Alaa Sallal, the director of public relations at the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority, said that the return of Emirates airline to Damascus will significantly motivate other airlines to operate their flights to Damascus International Airport.
In a press conference held this week after the conclusion of the 164th GCC ministerial council session in Kuwait, Kuwaiti foreign minister Abdullah Al-Yahya said that Gulf countries are collaborating to support Syria and are backing all initiatives focused on stabilising its political and economic landscape.
Last month US president Donald Trump announced plans to lift sanctions on Syria during a visit to Riyadh after discussions with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkey’s President Erdogan.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar jointly repaid Syria’s $15.5 million outstanding debt to the World Bank.
This month Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud said that the kingdom and Qatar will jointly offer financial support to Syria.
Damascus has already signed a memorandum of understanding with a consortium of international companies led by Qatar’s UCC Holding to develop major power generation projects worth $7 billion.
