Romania's Dan Air to offer direct flights to Syria in June, in EU first

A European Union airline has announced the it will begin direct flights to Syria, in the first move of its kind from the EU following the December 2024 fall of the Assad regime.

Dan Air, a Romanian airline, said on Thursday it will become the first European Union carrier to provide direct flights from Bucharest to Damascus starting next month, and will go on to connect the Syrian capital with a number of European cities.

In an official statement on LinkedIn, the airline’s CEO Matt Ian David said aviation should serve to "connect, not isolate," in reference to the diplomatic isolation Syria suffered as a consequence of the Syrian conflict, triggered by deposed President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal crackdown of peaceful demonstrations in 2011.

"Syria has a real need for connectivity, and we chose to respond with professionalism and responsibility. We’re proud to operate these routes under strict international safety and security standards," he said.

Syria is currently undergoing a transitional period following the ouster of the Assad regime, which brought to an end to decades of Baathist rule.

The current interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, is seeking to revive Syria economically and diplomatically following Assad’s overthrow, but Western-imposed sanctions and incidents of sectarian violence between pro-government forces and Alawite and Druze communities remain obstacles for the country's recovery.

According to the airline’s booking system, flights will begin from Bucharest’s Henri Coanda International Airport to Damascus International Airport on 15 June, with a frequency of six flights per week on the Airbus A320 aircraft.

The company will also operate additional flights from Stockholm, Frankfurt, and Berlin starting between 15 and 17 June, with a frequency of two flights per week for each destination.

Following the fall of the Assad regime almost six months ago, a number of international airlines have resumed flights to and from Syria.

In January, Qatar announced it would recommence flights to Damascus following a hiatus of 13 years. In the same month, commercial flights between Turkey and Syria also restarted.

Jordan’s national carrier Royal Jordanian also followed suite soon after. In April, the UAE announced it would be working towards restoring commercial flights to Syria.

On 20 April, the first Syrian passenger flight headed to the Gulf country departed from Damascus.

In February, Syria's General Authority for Civil Aviation signed an agreement with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) aimed at assisting Damascus with revamping its aviation sector in a bid to rejoin the global air transport network.