LONDON: Syrian authorities reported an increase in overflight traffic after a sharp decline in March caused by the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, which negatively affected travel across the region.
The General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport recorded 2,523 transit flights in April, an increase from just 32 in March when the country had closed its airspace due to regional conflict.
However, the number of overflight flights is still below the peaks of 4,267 in February and 5,244 in January, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
Omar Hosari, head of the aviation authority, said the increase in April indicates a gradual return of international aviation activity, noting that Syria’s geographic position makes its airspace strategically important for transit flights, SANA added.
In addition, 12 international airlines have resumed flights to and from Damascus and Aleppo airports, the two largest in the country. Syria reopened its airspace in early April after the US-Iran ceasefire agreement.
The country was largely isolated from 2011 to 2024 under the Bashar Assad regime, as most airlines canceled flights to Damascus due to security concerns and instability. There has been a gradual recovery in aviation since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.
Last week, flights from Doha, Qatar, and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, resumed to Damascus International Airport.
