Syria extends southern air corridor closure, suspends Damascus airport

Syria’s civil aviation authority has extended the closure of the country’s southern air corridors and continued the suspension of operations at Damascus International Airport until Monday evening amid ongoing regional escalation, News.Az reports, citing Anadolu.

“The extension came in light of the continued monitoring and assessment of regional developments by the committee responsible for risk management, to ensure the highest levels of aviation safety and security in accordance with approved international standards,” the General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport said in a statement.

It added that operations at Damascus International Airport will remain suspended until 11 p.m. Monday local time (2000 GMT).

Syria’s flag carrier, Syrian Airlines, earlier said it had rerouted flights to Aleppo airport in northern Syria.

The airline stated that the temporary closure of southern air corridors is intended to protect passengers amid the current security situation, according to Syria’s Al-Ikhbariyya TV.

It added that the Damascus–Dubai flight would operate as Aleppo–Dubai, and the Jeddah–Damascus flight would operate as Jeddah–Aleppo, with both scheduled for June 8.

Tensions escalated on Sunday when Israel bombed the Lebanese capital Beirut despite an ongoing ceasefire, prompting Iran to launch missiles at northern Israel in retaliation, with Israel responding with several waves of airstrikes against Iran.

The region has remained on edge since US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran in late February triggered Iranian retaliation against Israel and other regional countries hosting US assets.

A temporary ceasefire was reached on April 8, but negotiations later stalled amid disputes over implementation and subsequent regional developments.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev