Early years: Syrian Airways (1946–1958) Syrian Airways was established in 1946, with two propeller aircraft and started to fly between a domestic networks such as
Damascus,
Aleppo,
Deir ez-Zor,
Palmyra and
Qamishli. On December 21, 1953, one of the airline's Douglas planes crashed near Damascus killing all nine aboard. The airline's operating permit was cancelled following the crash. The airline was allowed to fly again in 1954. The Model 18s had been returned to the
Syrian Air Force in 1949, while four additional Dakotas were acquired between 1952 and 1956. The airlines merged on December 25, 1958, to form
United Arab Airlines (UAA). At the time of the merger, Syrian Airways was still only a small regional airline while its Egyptian counterpart, Misrair, was the largest and oldest airline in the Arab world, operating an extensive network out of Cairo, the region's metropolis. During the UAA interlude, only regional and domestic routes were operated in Syria, flights further afield connected at the Cairo hub. Two planes inherited from Syrian Airways were written off between 1959 and 1961: the Douglas DC-4-1009 which was ditched in the Congo River as it was carrying cargo from Accra to
Leopoldville on September 1, 1960, and a Dakota which crashed on its final approach of Qamishli on a domestic flight from Aleppo on May 6, 1961. Fortunately, there were no fatalities in either accident. The union between Egypt and Syria ended on September 26, 1961, amidst tensions between the leaderships of the two provinces of the UAR. The Syrian Arab Republic was declared in Syria, while Egypt chose to continue to carry the title of UAR until 1971. In parallel to that divorce, Syria withdrew from UAA. All the airliners previously owned by Syrian Airways, two
Douglas DC-6Bs and one Douglas DC6B freighter were given up by UAA to the Syrian authorities. The fleet initially consisted of three Douglas C-47 Dakotas, two Douglas C-54 Skymasters, two Douglas DC-6Bs and one Douglas DC-6B freighter (later sold to
LAC Colombia). Domestic and regional flights were promptly resumed and the fleet originally was painted in a green livery reminiscent of that of the Syrian Airways colors. These jets enabled the airline to expand and reinforce its network with the addition of flights to
Luxembourg,
Prague,
Athens,
Istanbul,
Teheran and
Bahrain. Nevertheless, S.A.A.L's operations were gradually restored and a normal level of operation was recovered by 1968 as shown in the timetable below. The fleet consisted then of two Super Caravelles and three DC-6Bs.
Syrian Airlines (1970–1980) -400 at Paris-
Le Bourget Airport in 1975. With the beginning of the seventies, S.A.A.L continued its steady development by introducing flights to Moscow in 1970 and purchasing another two Super Caravelles from
Sterling Airways in June 1971. A new airport, the
Damascus International Airport, was built 25 km south-east of the capital and was opened to traffic in 1973 to become S.A.A.L's modern hub, replacing the old
Mezze structure inherited from the French mandate. in post-1973 livery. A climate of confidence, pragmatism and political stability was nevertheless in sight in Syria after decades of volatile politics and coups d'état. Ambitious development programs were launched throughout the country. Syrian Arab Airlines was among the government's priorities as a new modernization and expansion program was launched. A new SAAL livery was introduced in 1973, featuring the airline's new logo, a mythical bird rising over a Mediterranean-blue disk. These tensions ultimately resulted in economic sanctions voted by the
U.S Congress, which accused Syria of harbouring and embracing illegal opposition movements. This climate of difficult economics also resulted in a relatively austere on-board service and in the persistence of tedious multiple-leg routings, while competing airlines were offering nonstop frequent flights. SyrianAir had ultimately to resort to Soviet-built aircraft to expand its fleet. The number of passengers carried by SyrianAir declined to 353,355 in 1988, the lowest since the mid-seventies, forcing the airline towards more reform. The workforce was reduced by 1.5% to 3,526 in 1989, the number of passengers carried that year increased to 509,659. The workforce was increased to 3,615 in 1990, and the number of passengers increased to 655,644, a record despite the war in Kuwait, and the airline was able to finish the year without losses. While sanctions and harsh economics kept it lagging way behind its competitors, and while the
demise of the Soviet Union cast doubts on the future of its Tupolev fleet, SyrianAir's fortunes changed following the
Gulf War in 1990. As Syria supported the
U.S.-led coalition against the
Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, it regained some of its long-lost sympathy in Western hearts. Flights to London were resumed in 1991, and passenger numbers continued to increase to 700,819. These plans were hampered by the reinforcement of a U.S.-led embargo against Syria after the start of the
conflict in Syria in 2011, and fleet renewal using Russian equipment was being reconsidered. On 9 January 2020, Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad issued a legislative decree to change the name from Syrian Arab Airlines to Syrian Airlines. Two more Airbus A320-200s were delivered via Iran in July and December 2022 (reg. YK-AKG, YK-AKH). On 23 July 2012, as the
Syrian civil war continued, the
European Union imposed a new wave of sanctions on Syria, which included sanctions on SyrianAir. The sanctions meant that the airline could not conduct flights to the EU, or buy any new aircraft which contained European parts. As a result, Syrian Air was forced to suspend all its operations in the EU. The company is discussing a lawsuit against European Union countries since Syrian Airlines "did not violate any laws nor did it jeopardise safety". However EU ministers justified the sanctions on the airline because the company "provides financial and logistical support for the Syrian government". On 10 October 2012, a Syrian Air flight in Turkish airspace was flanked by two fighter jets and forced to land in the country. It was believed the plane was carrying a Russian shipment to the Syrian military. Turkey's then-Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoğlu said that Turkey had "received information this plane was carrying cargo of a nature that could not possibly comply with the rules of civil aviation." Russian news agency
Interfax cited an unnamed source from a Russian arms exporting agency who stated that there were no weapons or military equipment on board the plane.
Post civil war: 2025–present In February 2025, the
European Union suspended transport sanctions, paving the way for
Airbus purchases and flights to
Europe. As interest in Syrian economy increases post civil war, the Syrian government signed a $250 million deal in financing to buy up to 10
Airbus A320 narrow-body planes for Syrian Airlines with a consortium of companies led by Qatar's UCC Holding. ==Codeshare agreements==