Syria launching Moscow, Medina flights as aviation momentum builds
Damascus and Aleppo are adding a growing number of international flights in 2026, with activity in Syria's airspace already doubling so far this year amid fallout from the US-Israel-Iran war.
Syrian Airlines will launch more international routes in August, including resuming links from Damascus to Moscow and Medina in the coming weeks, as the war-torn country’s aviation recovery shows continued signs of progress in 2026.
The routes to Russia and Saudi Arabia will add to a growing list of new and restored flights to Syria announced in recent months. This includes breakthroughs in reconnecting to European destinations after more than a decade of isolation, even as significant operational and security challenges still face Syria’s aviation recovery.
What happened: Syria’s national airline is scheduled to begin operating direct flights between Damascus and Moscow on Aug. 16, the country’s news agency, SANA, reported on Tuesday. Syria's flag carrier is also set to relaunch direct Damascus-Medina flights on Aug. 11, with weekly service every Tuesday.
The new Russia route will launch as the Kremlin also appointed a new ambassador to Syria on Monday amid a reset in ties between the two countries under President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
In July, Syrian Airlines also resumed flights between Damascus and Amsterdam, becoming the first destination restored by the carrier to Western Europe since services to the continent were suspended during the country’s nearly 14-year civil war. Damascus International Airport has added a steady stream of destinations in 2026, but until recently most have been regional routes flown by carriers from Turkey, Jordan and Gulf states alongside Syrian Airlines.
Meanwhile, Aleppo International Airport is also welcoming more international airlines. On Aug. 1, Turkey’s SunExpress launched flights from Antalya, Germany’s LEAV Aviation started services from Dusseldorf and Saudi Arabia’s flynas began flights from Riyadh. This comes after Syria opened a new air corridor from Aleppo toward the Mediterranean Sea in March, helping resume commercial air traffic through the northern city’s international airport, as Reuters reported at the time.
At the same time, Syria says more airlines are using its skies after the new authorities fully reopened the country’s airspace. According to figures released by aviation authorities, 20,315 aircraft transited Syrian airspace in July, up from 4,267 in February, as overflights surged after the US-Israel-Iran war began on Feb. 28, disrupting traditional flight paths across the Middle East.
Why it matters: Taken together, recent route announcements suggest that Syria's gradual aviation recovery is beginning to broaden beyond the initial wave of regional connections in 2025 following the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.
While Gulf and neighboring carriers were among the first to return, launches involving Germany and the Netherlands indicate that commercial links with Europe — one of the more closely watched indicators of Syria's international reintegration — are beginning to reemerge.
The increase in overflights is equally significant. Beyond improving connectivity, transit traffic offers a potentially valuable source of revenue through overflight fees, while helping restore Syria's position on regional air corridors after international airlines had long avoided its airspace.
Yet the recovery remains incomplete. International aviation bodies and industry groups have continued to highlight concerns over infrastructure, regulatory oversight and safety, while parts of Syrian airspace are still viewed as carrying elevated operational risk. Last month, an Iranian missile hit Syria for the first time during the regional conflict, while Israel’s military has also struck the country multiple times since Assad’s ouster.
Major European, Asian and North American airlines remain absent, and it is unclear whether recent increases in overflight traffic will prove durable if regional security conditions stabilize and airlines revert to previous routings once regional turbulence subsides.
The coming months should therefore provide a clearer indication of whether Syria's aviation rebound is evolving into a sustained recovery or remains driven primarily by exceptional regional circumstances. For now, however, new European services, the return of more international carriers and continued investment in aviation infrastructure all signal that Syria’s aviation recovery is making strides in 2026.
Know more: Syria welcomed 3.52 million visitors during the first half of 2026, more than double the figure recorded a year earlier, as the government pushes to reconnect to the world and promote tourism as a pillar of economic recovery.
