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| Founded | 1946 | |||
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| Hubs | ||||
| Frequent flyer program | Syrian Air Frequent Flyer | |||
| Fleet size | 26 | |||
| Destinations | 49 | |||
| Headquarters | Damascus, Syria | |||
| Key people | Mrs. Ghaida Abdullatif, Vice Chairman - Director General & CEO | |||
| Website | www.syriaair.com | |||
Syrian Air (Arabic: السورية), previously known as Syrian Arab Airlines (Arabic: مؤسسة الطيران العربية السورية), is the flag carrier airline of Syria, based in Damascus. It operates scheduled international services to over 40 destinations in Asia, Europe and North Africa, as well as domestic services. Its main base is Damascus International Airport.
Syrian Air is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization.
Contents |
History
1946 – 1961
Syrian Airlines was established in autumn 1946, with two propellers and started to fly between Damascus Aleppo and Der Alzour and Kamishli the airline expanded during the fifties to include Beirut, Baghdad, and Jerusalem, then Cairo and Kuwait then Doha, in addition to flights during hajj.
In 1952 the airline was provided with three Douglas DC-3s and in 1954 with four CC4,and in 1957 four Douglas DC-6s in the name of United Arab Airline.
1961 – present
The airline was established by the Government of Syria in October 1961 to succeed Syrian Airways which had been established in 1946.[1] The new Syrian Arab Airlines took over the routes previously controlled by Syrian Airways and United Arab Airlines. 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.
Syrian Arab Airlines began operation with three Douglas DC-6, two Douglas DC-4 and three Douglas DC-3s, serving both domestic and international routes to the east. In summer 1963, Syrianair begin its expansion to the west, starting with Rome and Munich, then London and Paris. Sud Aviation Caravelle 10B3 joined the fleet in October 1965. In 1976, the airline acquired a Boeing 727-200 and 747SP.
In the 1970s, because of the closer political ties between Syria and the Soviet Union, Syrianair acquired Soviet aircraft. 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.
A joint service with Royal Jordanian to New York was opened in July 1978.
When the United States imposed sanctions on Syria, updates to Syrianair were interrupted until October 1998, when Airbus A320-200 were bought.
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.[2]
As of October 2008, the airline retained the use of one of its two old Boeing 747SPs for flights to Dubai, but this model is now thought to have joined its sister in the Damascus airport storage area.
The airline is wholly owned by the Syrian government and employs 5,325 staff.
Dr. Sami Khiyami, currently Syrian Ambassador in London, England, is a former senior figure within the Airline.
Destinations
Syrian have code share agreements with the following airline:
Fleet
As of November 2009, the Syrianair fleet consists 26 aircraft:[3]
- 7 Airbus A320-200（150-179）
- 6 Antonov An-26 (cargo)
- 2 Boeing 727-200（70-189）
- 3 Ilyushin Il-76TD (cargo)
- 3 Tupolev Tu-134（92-96）
- 5 Yakovlev Yak-40（30-32）
References
- ^ Syrian Air – About Us
- ^ "Russia Aircraft Industry Lands in Syria." Kommersant. 18 May 2006
- ^ aerotransport.org – Syrianair fleet 11 December 2009
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
