page_title: Syrian Air
section_title: Early years: Syrian Airways 1946–1958
hierarchical_section_title: Syrian Air / History / Early years: Syrian Airways 1946–1958
caption_attribution_description: Boeing 727 Author: Dmitry A. Mottl email: dm_at_mottl.ru
context_page_description: Syrian Airlines, operating as SyrianAir, is the flag carrier airline of Syria. It operates scheduled international services to several destinations in Asia, Europe and North Africa, though the number of flights operated has seriously declined since 2011 due to the Arab Spring and subsequent Syrian war. SyrianAir previously served over 50 destinations worldwide. Its main bases are Damascus International Airport and previously Aleppo International Airport. SyrianAir is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization. The company has its head office on the fifth floor of the Social Insurance Building in Damascus.
  On 9 January 2020, Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad issued a legislative decree to change the name from Syrian Arab Airlines to Syrian Airlines.
context_section_description: Syrian Airlines was established in 1946, with two propeller aircraft and started to fly between Damascus, Aleppo and Deir ez-Zour and Qamishli. Operations began in 1947. Financial difficulties caused the suspension of services in 1948, but after receiving government support operations were resumed in 1951. The airline expanded during the next years to include Beirut, Baghdad, and Jerusalem, then Cairo and Kuwait then Doha, in addition to flights during the hajj. The airline started its operations in June 1947 using two Beech D-18s and three Douglas DC-3 (C-47 Dakotas). The Dakotas had been acquired from Pan American World Airways (PAA), which provided technical assistance to Syrian Airways during the first years of operation. The airline's domestic network linked Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia, Kamishly and Palmyra. Syrian Airways also operated a regional network, with flights to Beirut, Baghdad, Jerusalem, Amman; followed by Cairo, Kuwait, Doha and Jeddah. In May 1948, the war in Palestine and financial difficulties led to the withdrawal of PAA and to the suspension of service until mid-1952. On December 21, 1953, one of the airline's Douglas planes crashed near Damascus killing all nine aboard. The airline's operating permit was cancelled following the crash. The airline was allowed to fly again in 1954. The D-18s had been returned to the Syrian Air Force in 1949, while four additional Dakotas were acquired between 1952 and 1956.
  In 1952, the airline was provided with three Douglas DC-3s and with four Douglas DC-4s in 1954, and in 1957 it received four Douglas DC-6s in the name of United Arab Airline.
  One of the older Dakotas (YK-AAE) crashed during its climb out of Aleppo's Nejrab Airport on February 24, 1956, during a heavy storm. The 19 people on board died in the airline's worst accident to date. Newer and stronger planes were consequently added to the fleet in the mid-fifties: two Douglas DC-4/C-54 Skymasters, followed by a Douglas DC-4-1009 acquired from Swissair in December 1958, complementing an active fleet of four Douglas C47 Dakotas. The network was expanded to Dhahran in the Persian Gulf while frequencies were reinforced elsewhere.
caption: Syrian Air Boeing 727-200 Adv.
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