Cham Wings Airlines was established on 9 July 2006 as the first private airline in Syria by Syrian businessman Issam Shammout. The main hub for the airline is
Damascus International Airport. The company officially obtained an Aircraft Operators Certificate (AOC) issued by the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) on 23 September 2007. Although the AOC comes second after the main national carrier of Syria,
Syrian Air, the AOC authorised the company to operate non-scheduled charter flights only. The company leased one MD aircraft and commenced its first flight from
Damascus to
Baghdad International Airport on 3 March 2008. In 2008, a newcomer entered the market under the name
Syrian Pearl Airlines which was owned by Cham Holding at 69% (Rami Makhlouf major shareholder), Syrianair at 25%, and Aqeeq Aviation/Aquila Holding 6%, (Aqeeq and Al Deshtei Kuwaiti). The partnership with Syrian Air gave Syrian Pearl the opportunity to operate scheduled flights, unlike Cham Wings which struggled in operating charter flights to destinations that Syrian Air hardly approves. Even though Syrian Pearl never started its operations, Cham Wings could not turn profitable operating only charter flights. The company ceased operations in 2012 following the unrest in Syria. of Cham Wings Airlines|left In 2014, Cham Wings Airlines obtained the approval to operate scheduled flights becoming the second national carrier in Syria. It then recommenced its operations to serve destinations like
Beirut,
Kuwait,
Baghdad, and
Qamishli. In 2016, it was targeted by
United States sanctions for providing support to the Syrian government. In 2018, the airline advertised transporting Syrian refugees in Germany from Munich to Damascus and back, which can lead to the loss of their asylum status. In June 2021, Ukraine blacklisted the airline due to the flights to
Crimea. Due to the ongoing
Belarus–European Union border crisis, Cham Wings Airlines terminated their flights from
Damascus to
Minsk on short notice in November 2021, stating they cannot distinguish between regular travellers and illegal migrants. In December 2021, the
European Union sanctioned Cham Wings Airlines, accusing it of flying migrants to the Belarusian-Polish border and exacerbating the crisis. Switzerland joined the EU sanctions on 20 December. EU sanctions imposed as a result of this accusation were lifted on 19 July 2022. Cham Wings Airlines resumed service on 7 Jan 2025, following the
ousting of Bashar al-Assad.
Dissolution, acquisition and rebranding Cham Wings Airline ceased operations on 5 June 2025. The airline was acquired by Emirati company Rawdat Al Reef Project Services LLC and the Syrian company Rawdat Al Reef Project Management Services LLC as a partner. The new owners acquired the assets of Cham Wings Airlines and launched a rebranded carrier,
Fly Cham, following regulatory approval. Most of Cham Wings Airlines' employees, cabin crew, and pilots maintained their similar position in the new company Fly Cham. ==Ownership==