Syria secures funds for Airbus jets amid Damascus airport expansion plans

Governments signs $250m financing deal to buy up to 10 A320s for Syrian Airlines

Passengers boarding at Damascus International Airport. The Airbus deal is aimed at enhancing the fleet and increasing the competitiveness of Syria's national carrier. Reuters

Syria secured financing to modernise the fleet of national carrier Syrian Airlines with Airbus planes as it redevelops Damascus International Airport, as interest from foreign investors in its post-war economy increases.

The Syrian government signed an initial pact for $250 million in financing to buy up to 10 Airbus A320 narrow-body planes for Syrian Airlines with a consortium of companies led by Qatar's UCC Holding.

The purchase is "aimed at enhancing the fleet and increasing the competitiveness of the national carrier", UCC Holding said.

Airbus declined to comment on the deal. "As a general rule, we never discuss any discussions we may or may not have with our airline customers," a representative told The National.

The funding is part of a wider $4 billion initial agreement to redevelop the Damascus airport with UCC Holding and US-based Assets Investments, as well as Turkish companies Cengiz, Kalyon and airport operator Tav. This was part of an announcement of 12 major strategic projects valued at $14 billion.

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Once finalised, the deal would help revitalise Syria's long-neglected aviation sector after years of civil war that has left its infrastructure in a dire state.

Aviation potential

Aviation authorities in Gulf states have been lobbying the International Air Transport Association and the UN aviation body ICAO to "play a pivotal role" in developing Syria's aviation industry, underscoring its importance to the region, and in ensuring that "no state is left behind", Kamil Al Awadhi, regional vice president of Africa and Middle East at Iata, told The National.

Asked about the potential for Syria's aviation industry to develop once US and European sanctions lift, Mr Al Awadhi said: "If everything went well, it will go boom."

However, the scope of growth depends on the amount of investment that goes into upgrading the Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs), airports, ground handling capabilities, improving regulations and restructuring airlines, he said.

Another factor in the growth of Syria's air travel industry will be foreign countries easing visa rules to allow more Syrians to travel, he added.

An increasing number of international airlines – including Emirates, Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines – have resumed flights to Damascus.

Airlines – especially state-owned Syrian Air and private operator Cham Wings – have long operated with an ageing fleet under a severe shortage of parts, often relying on black-market channels or cannibalising grounded planes.

Sanctions relief would, for the first time in years, allow these airlines to legally source OEM (original equipment manufacturer)-certified parts from Airbus, Boeing and their tier-one suppliers, which could significantly improve safety standards and reliability, Linus Bauer, founder and managing director of consultancy BAA & Partners, told The National.

In the medium to long term, sanctions relief could re-enable commercial aircraft orders with major OEMs, which were previously blocked due to US components being embedded in virtually all commercial jets, he said at the time.

Syrian Airlines has a fleet of 12 planes, including Airbus A320s and larger A340s, though most of the planes are listed as parked, Bloomberg reported, citing tracking website Planespotters.

The Damascus airport expansion project follows on the heels of several multibillion-dollar deals that Syria has signed with regional countries including the UAE and Saudi Arabia to build everything from power stations to subways.