Syria opens civilian airspace for Russian planes upon request

The Syrian government has authorized Russian airplanes to use its airspace for transit.

According to Kommersant, this is following an appeal made by the Russian side, as reported by the Head of the Syrian Civil Aviation Agency, Basem Mansur.

"The Russian Civil Aviation Agency has appealed to the Syrian authorities for permission for Russian airplanes crossing over its airspace, and the Syrian government has immediately issued this permission. Syria has requested Russia to provide a schedule of the flights, in order to be able to guarantee an airspace corridor but we are currently waiting for a response from the Russian side”, Mansur said.

The head of the aviation agency highlighted, that the Syrian side is capable of providing the secure movement of airplanes from Russia through its airspace.

A ban on flights through Syria was introduced in April 2013. According to Kommersant, the Russian aviation agency has asked to be permitted to use this airspace for several airlines following the closing of airspace for planes with a double-registration by the governments of Türkiye, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Eritrea and Yemen. The publication recalls, that the Russian aviation agency previously referred to the Syrian airspace as being potentially dangerous for regional flights.