Syria opens Mediterranean-Aleppo air corridor that could help ease regional snarl

By Feras Dalatey

DAMASCUS, March 5 (Reuters) – Syria has opened a newly reactivated air corridor from the northern city of Aleppo toward the Mediterranean Sea for use by foreign airlines as ​well as its national carrier, the head of the country’s ‌Civil Aviation Authority told Reuters on Thursday, as air traffic gradually resumes through Aleppo International Airport.

Civil Aviation Authority director Omar Hosari said the route is intended to provide a safe flight path for aircraft arriving at and departing from Aleppo ‌and ​will be available to any airline as ⁠long as it “meets international safety ⁠standards.”

“The corridors are not dedicated exclusively to Syrian Air,” said Hosari. “Other airlines can use them to transit or operate through Syrian airspace according to the usual regulatory procedures.”

In a Thursday statement, the ​authority said it had also reopened air routes in the northern part of Syrian airspace toward Turkey after conducting operational and technical ⁠assessments and reviewing regional developments affecting ⁠aviation.

The authority said the first Syrian Air flight departed ​Aleppo for Istanbul on Thursday and arrived safely, marking the gradual resumption ​of operations at Aleppo International Airport. A flight from Aleppo ‌to the Saudi city of Jeddah is scheduled for Friday, with authorities studying the addition of other destinations including Riyadh.

Hosari said Royal Jordanian is expected to use the Mediterranean corridor on Friday for a flight ⁠from Amman to Aleppo as part of the phased return of air traffic.

Commercial air traffic remained largely absent across much of the Middle East, ⁠with major Gulf hubs – ‌including Doha and Dubai, the world’s busiest airport ⁠for international passengers – largely shut for a sixth ​straight day ‌after the U.S.-Israeli launched air strikes on Iran, ​which responded ⁠with retaliatory missile and drone strikes on the entire region.

A week into the regional conflict, Syria is emerging relatively sidelined, with Iranian presence ceased after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, and U.S. military bases in the country evacuated last February.

(Writing by Feras Dalatey; Editing ​by Diane Craft)