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Damascus International Airport مطار دمشق الدولي Maṭār Dimašq al-Duwaliyy
IATA: DAM ICAO: OSDI
Summary
Airport type	Joint (civil and military air base)
Owner	Government of Syria
Operator	Directorate General of Civil Aviation
Serves	Damascus, Syria
Opened	1973; 51 years ago (1973)
Hub for	Syrian Air Cham Wings Airlines
Built	1965
Time zone	AST (UTC+03:00)
Elevation AMSL	616 m / 2,020 ft
Coordinates	33°24′41″N 36°30′56″E / 33.41139°N 36.51556°E / 33.41139; 36.51556
Website	www.damascus-airport.com
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 05R/23L 3,600 11,811 Asphalt 05L/23R 3,598 11,804 Asphalt
Statistics (2010)
Passengers 5,500,000 (50.1%)

Damascus International Airport (Arabic: مَطَار دِمَشْق الدَّوْلِيّ, romanized: Maṭār Dimašq ad-Duwaliyy) (IATA: DAM, ICAO: OSDI) is the international airport of Damascus, the capital of Syria. Inaugurated in the mid-1970s, it also was the country's busiest airport. In 2010, an estimated 5.5 million passengers used the airport, an increase of more than 50% since 2004. The ongoing civil war has caused many airlines to terminate their flights to and from Damascus, cutting much of the city's population off from international flights.

Damascus International Airport serves as a primary gateway to Syria and is one of the largest airports in the country along with Aleppo International Airport and Latakia International Airport.

History

Establishment and early years

In 1965 the construction of the airport was entrusted to a group of French companies (SCB, CSF, Spie and Cegelec), led by the SCB. Damascus Airport was opened in the late 1960s, replacing the old Mazzeh military airport that previously served as the city's main aviation hub. The airport was built to accommodate the growing air traffic and to enhance Syria's connectivity with the rest of the world. In the 1980s, the airport was served by over 30 airlines and had nonstop flights to destinations in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia. It was also a stop-over on a Pakistan International Airlines route from Karachi and Islamabad to New York and Toronto.

In the following years, Damascus Airport underwent several expansion and modernisation projects in order to meet the increasing demands of international and domestic travellers. New terminals, runways, and facilities were constructed to enhance passenger services and improve operational efficiency. In March 2007, Iran Air inaugurated a flight from Tehran to Caracas via Damascus. Its codeshare partner Conviasa took over the route seven months later.

Civil war: 2011–present

Since the onset of the Syrian Civil War, the airport and the road leading to it have been closed intermittently and most international airlines, such as Emirates and EgyptAir, have ceased flights. Conviasa ended its direct service to Caracas in August 2012. In 2018, flights to Russia started.

In June 2022, Damascus International Airport suffered major damage, including to runways, following an Israeli missile attack, targeting alleged Iranian weapons transfers. Flights were halted to and from the airport for two weeks due to the extensive damage to infrastructure. On 2 January 2023, Damascus International Airport temporarily went out of service after another Israeli missile strike, which killed at least 2 soldiers, before returning to operation 7 hours later after the damage was repaired. It is announced that Syrian Airlines plans to establish a joint venture with a private company to invest, manage, and operate its activities and those of the airport.

On 12 October 2023, Damascus International Airport was temporarily closed due to a damaged runway following Israeli missile attacks on both it and Aleppo International Airport, during the skirmishes which occurred across the border in connection with the Israel–Hamas war. The airport was put back into service on 18 October. On 22 October, both Aleppo and Damascus airports were hit simultaneously, putting them out of service for the second time within two weeks. Two workers were killed during the attack. On 26 November 2023, hours after the airport was put back into service from the previous attack, Israel targeted the airport with missiles, causing material losses and putting the airport out of service again. The airport returned to service on 27 December 2023 without an official announcement.

The airport was closed during the opposition offensive on Damascus on 8 December 2024. On 18 December 2024, commercial operations resumed with the first flight taking off with 32 passengers heading to Aleppo.

Facilities

Terminals

The airport is of Islamic architecture, and has two terminals, one for international flights and the other for domestic flights. The airport features two duty-free outlets. The departures hall also includes an in-house coffee shop, several souvenir shops, three restaurants, and a lounge for first and business class passengers. The southern part of the airport has hardened aircraft shelters and artillery revetments. The second terminal have a capacity to handle 25 million passengers.

The construction of a third terminal is planned but its construction has been postponed due to the civil war, which is ongoing. The third terminal was intended to increase the capacity of the airport to 16 million passengers per year. Russia will be investing in expansion of the airport, with development of new terminal.

Runways

The current runways allow the landing of virtually all types of aircraft currently in use in the world (including Airbus A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Boeing 747-8). The airport has two parallel runways (05R/23L and 05L/23R), which were completely renovated in the 2010s. Their 3600 meters (11800 feet) allow smooth and permanent air traffic.

Future projects

In 2023, the Government of Syria announced that it is considering to transfer 49% of the airport to a private entity. According to many sources Russia and Iran are planning to invest in the airport's development and building of a new international terminal, which would have a capacity of up to 15 million passengers per year.

Airlines and destinations

Ground transportation

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Located 30 kilometers (20 miles) southeast of Damascus, the airport is in the governate of Rif-Dimashq. The facility is connected to the city by a highway. A shuttle bus runs between the city center and the airport. The building of a railway line and a terminal bus station with a shopping center at the airport is planned to connect it to the Hejaz station.

Accidents and incidents

• On 20 August 1975, ČSA Flight 540 crashed while on approach to Damascus International Airport. Out of the 128 passengers and crew on board, there were only two survivors.

References

1. "New Damascus International Airport". centreforaviation.com. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
2. "The Report: Syria 2010" Archived 29 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine,
3. AFP (1 April 1965). "Un groupe de firmes françaises va construire l'aéroport international de Damas" (in French). Le Monde. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
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7. Spaeth, Andreas (17 June 2007). "Nach Diktatur verreist". Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (in German). Archived from the original on 25 June 2007. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
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27. Natalia Atfee (November 2005). "Les grands projets urbains de Damas". Archive ouverte HAL (in French). Retrieved 9 July 2019.
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32. Sh (3 July 2023). "Partnership Between State and Private Sector to Manage and Operate Damascus Airport". The Syrian Observer. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
33. Cash-strapped Syrian regime hawks national airport to Iran-linked front company
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35. Air Algérie reprend le chemin de Madrid, Damas et Beyrouth
36. chamwings.com - Our destinations retrieved 27 January 2021
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42. syrianair.com retrieved 27 January 2021
43. Rafah al-Allouni and Ruaa al-Jazaeri (27 October 2024). "Syrian Airlines: Resuming flights between Damascus and Jeddah airports". Syrian Arab News Agency. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
44. ^ "المفاوضات بخصوص طائرتي «السورية» متواصلة … كباس لـ«الوطن»: تشغيل رحلات نظامية بين مطاري دمشق والرياض اعتباراً من 7 تموز" [Negotiations regarding the two “Syrian” planes are continuing... Kabas to “Al-Watan”: Operating regular flights between Damascus and Riyadh airports as of July 7]. Al Watan.sy. 11 June 2024. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
45. Syrian Air carries its first Hajj trips after a 12-years halt.
46. "UR Airlines destinations". flightradar24.com. FlightRadar24. Retrieved 2 August 2021.

External links

Media related to Damascus International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Accident history for DAM at Aviation Safety Network
• Airport information for OSDI at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
• Current weather for OSDI at NOAA/NWS
• Airport at the flightradar24.com

• Asia
• Aviation

• Airports in Syria
• Buildings and structures in Damascus
• 1970 establishments in Syria
• Airports established in 1970