Syria's aviation revival: How the end of Assad and the Iran war brought the industry back
The war-torn nation began its revival effort soon after the ousting of former president Bashar al-Assad, with recent developments including the return of Syrian Airlines to Europe.
Since the start of Syria's 14-year civil war, the country's airspace has been largely off-limits to international airlines. The International Civil Aviation Organization and the United States Federal Aviation Administration both classified Syrian airspace as high risk due to fears of missile fire. The European Union Aviation Safety Agency recommended airlines avoid the region.
Despite these warnings, the collapse of the Assad regime in 2024 and the ongoing Iran war have created new opportunities for Syria's aviation industry. Turkey supplied new radar and navigation systems to Syrian airports in 2025, and the EU lifted sanctions on the national carrier Syrian Airlines in February 2025. Syrian Airlines signed a $250 million deal to purchase 10 new Airbus A320 jets in August 2025 and resumed international flights that month, beginning with weekly services to Saudi Arabia.
The Iran war has further boosted demand for overflights through Syrian airspace, as airlines seek to save time and fuel by avoiding Iraq. By July, Syrian Airlines, Turkish Airlines, flydubai, Royal Jordanian, Air Arabia, flynas, Qatar Airways, Jazeera Airways, and AJet had all resumed flights to Damascus and Aleppo. However, the Syrian airspace remains risky, with air traffic levels still only a fraction of pre-war levels, according to aviation risk monitoring advisory body OPSGroup.
Syrian authorities remain optimistic about the industry's future, seeing the new developments as a positive shift in the regional air traffic network.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
