Emirates touches down in Damascus

Adil Al Ghaith, Emirates’ senior vice president commercial operations said: “Today marks a significant milestone as we celebrate the return of Emirates to Damascus. By providing our services and connecting Damascus to the world, we are helping to reunite families, friends, and communities who have long awaited easier access to their loved ones.

“The UAE and Syria have historically enjoyed strong bilateral ties and the country has always been an important market for Emirates, since our first flights to the country in 1988. Through our passenger operations, we aim to serve as a vital facilitator for tourism, trade and investment and, in connecting Syria to almost 150 destinations across our network, we hope to be a valuable enabler of its recovery. We would like to thank the Syrian and UAE authorities and General Authority of Civil Aviation for their cooperation and commitment to making the resumption of services possible.”

Alaa Sallal, Director of Public Relations at the General Authority of Civil Aviation, Syria, added: "The teams from the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority and the United Arab Emirates worked tirelessly, through high-level coordination and a shared vision, to meet all requirements necessary to resume air operations. These fruitful efforts culminated in the successful reinstatement of Emirates’ flights to Damascus – a step that reflects the depth of cooperation between both sides and their shared commitment to strengthening fraternal and economic ties."

Emirates’ services to Damascus will initially operate three times per week, on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday, with plans to increase services to four-weekly from 2 August with an additional flight on Saturday. Emirates will expand its services to Damascus to daily operations effective 26 October.