SyrianAir السورية
IATA RB	ICAO SYR	Callsign SYRIANAIR
Founded		1961
Hubs		Damascus International Airport Aleppo International Airport
Frequent flyer program		Syrian Air Frequent Flyer
Fleet size		11 (+7 orders)
Destinations		49
Headquarters		Damascus, Syria
Key people		Naachat Numir (President and CEO)
Website: http://www.syriaair.com

Syrian Arab Airlines (Arabic: مؤسسة الطيران العربية السورية‎), alternative name Syrianair (السورية) is the flag carrier airline of Syria, based in Damascus. It operates scheduled international services to over 40 destinations in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North Africa, as well as domestic services. Its main base is Damascus International Airport.

Syrian Arab Airlines is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization.

[edit] History

The airline was established by the Government of Syria in October 1961 to succeed Syrian Airways which had been established in 1946.^{[citation needed]} The new Syrian Arab Airlines took over the routes previously controlled by Syrian Airways and United Arab Airlines.^{[citation needed]} The latter had been a short-lived airline formed by the merger of Syrian Airways and Misrair in January 1961 during the union of Syria and Egypt.^{[citation needed]}

Boeing 727-269/Adv

Boeing 747SP

Boeing 727 in Berlin-Schönefeld

Syrian Arab Airlines began operation with three Douglas DC-6, two Douglas DC-4 and three Douglas DC-3, serving both domestic and international routes to the east.^{[citation needed]} In summer 1963, Syrianair begin its expansion to the west, starting with Rome and Munich, then London and Paris.^{[citation needed]} Sud Aviation Caravelle 10B3 joined the fleet in October 1965.^{[citation needed]} In 1976, the airline acquired a Boeing 727-200 and 747SP.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1970s, because of the closer political ties between Syria and the Soviet Union, Syrianair acquired Soviet aircraft.^{[citation needed]} This included an Antonov An-26, Ilyushin Il-76 and Yakovlev Yak-40 in the 1970s and Tupolev Tu-134B-3 and Tupolev Tu-154M in the 1980s.^{[citation needed]}

A joint service with Royal Jordanian to New York was opened in July 1978.^{[citation needed]}

When the United States imposed sanctions on Syria, updates to Syrianair were interrupted until October 1998, when Airbus A320-200 were bought.^{[citation needed]}

As of August, 2006, Syrianair was in negotiations to purchase three Ilyushin Il-96-400 long-range aircraft and four Tupolev Tu-204 medium-range aircraft.^[1][2]

The airline is wholly owned by the Syrian government and employs 5,325 staff.^{[citation needed]}

Dr. Sami Khiyami, currently Syrian Ambassador in London, England, is a former senior figure within the Airline.

[edit] Destinations

Main article: Syrian Arab Airlines destinations

[edit] Code Share

Syrian have code share agreements with the following airline:

• Royal Jordanian
• Saudi Arabian Airlines

[edit] Fleet

The Syrianair fleet consists of the following aircraft as of March 2008:^[3]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Syrian Arab Airlines