Germany’s LEAV Aviation operated the first scheduled flight by a European carrier to Deir ez-Zor International Airport in eastern Syria, landing a direct service from Cologne, state news agency SANA reported on September 1.
The route points to the pace at which Syria is trying to rebuild its aviation links after years of war and isolation, with a regional airport rather than a main hub drawing the country’s first commercial European service, part of a push to reconnect the provinces to international networks and draw back a diaspora scattered across Europe. The flight departed Cologne/Bonn airport in western Germany, with Syria’s consul general in Bonn, Milham al-Khen, present.
The arrival forms part of a plan to develop air traffic at Deir ez-Zor and widen its network, Omar al-Hasri, head of the General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport, told SANA. He said the strategy aimed to reactivate Syrian airports and offer citizens direct travel options rather than routing international links only through the main hubs.
Al-Hasri said the authority was seeking to add three new regional destinations to and from Deir ez-Zor, with technical teams from the countries concerned due to visit during the month to inspect equipment, operational infrastructure and safety and security procedures before moving to operational stages.
Firas Azzawi, director of Deir ez-Zor International Airport, said regular direct flights would ease the burden on residents of the province, who previously travelled through other airports and on multi-leg journeys. He said international flights would support the return of expatriates and refugees from the eastern region.
The airport received its first flight by Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways from Kuwait City on August 8, and reopened on August 5, when it handled its first two Syrian Air flights, a domestic service from Damascus and an international arrival from Kuwait.