Turkey’s budget airline AJet, a subsidiary of Turkish Airlines, will launch direct flights to Syria starting June 16, the country’s transport minister announced Wednesday, marking another step in the normalization of air travel between the two neighbors following years of conflict.
Flights from İstanbul’s Sabiha Gökçen Airport to Damascus will begin on June 16, followed by service from Ankara’s Esenboğa Airport on June 17, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdülkadir Uraloğlu said in a statement posted on social media platform X.
The announcement follows Turkish Airlines’ resumption of flights to Damascus in January, just six weeks after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which led to a rapid shift in regional dynamics.
Turkish Airlines had suspended its operations in Syria in 2012 amid the outbreak of civil war and deteriorating security conditions.
According to the minister, AJet flights will initially run three times a week from Ankara and four times a week from İstanbul. Starting in July, daily service from İstanbul to Damascus is planned.
Meanwhile, Syria’s national carrier, Syrian Airlines, announced that it will begin operating flights to İstanbul beginning June 10.
