UAE – Mubasher: Emirates has touched down in Damascus, the capital of Syria, carrying onboard 286 passengers on 16 July to include the city again on its expansive network of Middle East destinations, according to a press release.

The UAE airline company aims to connect travelers with its network once again and destinations across six continents.

Emirates’ services to Damascus will initially operate three times per week, on Monday, Wednesday and Sunday, with plans to increase services to four-weekly from 2 August upon certain approvals with an additional flight on Saturday. In addition, Emirates intends to expand its services to Damascus to daily operations effective 26 October.

Adil Al Ghaith, Emirates’ Senior Vice President Commercial Operations (Centre), stated: “By providing our services and connecting Damascus to the world, we are helping to reunite families, friends, and communities who have long awaited easier access to their loved ones.”

Al Ghaith noted: “The UAE and Syria have historically enjoyed strong bilateral ties and the country has always been an important market for Emirates, since our first flights to the country in 1988.”

The official concluded: “Through our passenger operations, we aim to serve as a vital facilitator for tourism, trade and investment and, in connecting Syria to almost 150 destinations across our network, we hope to be a valuable enabler of its recovery.”

It is worth noting that Emirates carried over 2.1 million passengers in and out of Syria since it started services to Damascus in 1988, prior to suspending operations in 2012.

The airline currently flies to 14 cities in the Middle East and the GCC, serving the region with a total of 194 weekly flights.