Dubai-Beirut flights: UAE airlines now using Syrian airspace to slash up to hour off travel time

Gulf carriers are thought to be making significant fuel savings but have yet to revise fares

The first flydubai flight to Damascus in 12 years landed on June 1. Photo: Sana

The resumption of commercial flights to Damascus is having a positive effect on flight times to other Middle Eastern destinations, particularly Beirut.

UAE airline flydubai resumed flights to Damascus on Sunday after a 12-year suspension. Other airlines are following suit, with Saudi Arabia's flynas resuming the Syrian capital from June 12 and Emirates airline set to relaunch flights between Dubai and Damascus on July 16.

Data from flight-tracking site Flightradar24 shows an Emirates flight from Dubai to Beirut on Monday took 2.51 hours. Five days earlier, on May 27, the same journey took 3.40 hours – nearly 50 minutes more.

Qatar Airways also resumed flying over Syria in February, shaving off 45 to 60 minutes of flight time.

According to Flightradar24, the current Qatar Airways flight time between Doha and Beirut is approximately 2.45 hours.

“For airlines, the Syrian airspace provides a better air corridor when travelling, especially on westbound flights that are often impacted by headwinds,” said Saj Ahmad, chief analyst at StrategicAero Research. “So any time saved means fuel is saved too – and that’s a cost saving for airlines as well.

“Opening up of commercial airspace provides a double boon for Syria,” he adds. “Not only will it stand to gain revenue from traffic overflying their territory, it opens up the possibility of other airlines also coming back to the country too.”

Emirates flight paths on May 27 and June 2

The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority announced the resumption of flights between the Emirates and Syria on April 14, following Syrian President Ahmad Al Shara's visit to the UAE earlier that month during which he held talks with President Sheikh Mohamed.

The opening of Syrian airspace in January has also led to shortened flight times between the UAE and Lebanon further north.

“Most UAE flights stopped using Syrian airspace in 2014, adding an extra hour to Beirut-bound flights,” a contributor to LebanonJets, which tracks flights in and out of Beirut, told The National. Dubai's flydubai and Sharjah's Air Arabia resumed flying over Syria en route to Beirut on March 11. The flydubai flights used to take four hours and 10 minutes.

“It has been reduced to three hours and 45 minutes since resuming over flying Syrian airspace from March,” a spokesperson for flydubai told The National.

“We were the first UAE carrier to touch down in Damascus on June 1, offering passengers a daily service from Dubai.”

Emirates airline began flying over Syria last week.

Despite the shorter flight times, airlines are yet to revise their fares, the LebanonJets representative points out.

A Syrian Air aircraft lands on the tarmac at the Aleppo International Airport after its official reopening on March 18. EPA

At the time of writing, a return ticket between Beirut and Dubai on Middle East Airlines, the flag carrier of Lebanon, is approximately Dh1,575. On Emirates, the same route is approximately Dh1,751 while on Etihad Airways, they are approximately Dh2,275.

Due to a high risk to civilian aircraft during the conflict that began in 2011, Syrian airspace was closed off by international carriers.

According to the Conflict Zone & Risk Database, an independent airspace monitor for airlines, commercial airlines avoided Syria entirely due to the risk of aircraft being targeted in error or caught in the crossfire during air attacks involving Israel, Russia and Iran.

The restarting of regular flights to Syria marks another significant step forward in the nation's postwar recovery. It will also be a major boost for Syrians in the UAE who have been deprived of a direct air link to connect with family and friends for so many years.