SWEDEN: Transport Regulator Rejects Syrianair Request to Operate Direct Flights Between Stockholm and Damascus
STOCKHOLM, Sweden: The Swedish government has rejected a request submitted by Syrianair to operate regular flights between Damascus and Stockholm, justifying its decision with the security risks associated with flying in Syrian airspace.
STOCKHOLM, Sweden
- The Swedish government has rejected Syrianair’s application to operate scheduled flights between Damascus and Stockholm Arlanda, citing security risks in Syrian airspace.
- The decision was issued on 15 October 2026. Syrianair had applied on 11 June and completed the filing on 11 August for a start on 25 August 2026, with four weekly Airbus A320 flights (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays) operated in cooperation with Lithuanian ACMI carrier Heston Airlines.
- The Ministry of Rural Affairs and Infrastructure based the refusal on Swedish aviation rules requiring authorities to assess security risks when granting permits for scheduled flights. The Transport Administration concluded that ongoing internal conflicts, military activity, poor air traffic control and the risk of misidentification by air-defence systems made the operations unacceptable.
- The assessment cited the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) recommendation that operators avoid Syrian airspace at all altitudes, plus Safe Airspace’s highest-risk classification of the airspace and the Swedish Foreign Ministry’s advice against travel to Syria.
- Sweden and Syria are parties to a 1955 air services agreement that in principle grants designated carriers the right to operate between the two countries. The Transport Administration noted that the security risks overrode the treaty rights in this case.
- The refusal applies only to Syrianair’s specific Damascus–Stockholm request. It does not constitute a general ban on all Sweden–Syria flights. Other European carriers and Syrianair itself have operated or planned services to Amsterdam, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Bucharest, Vienna and Copenhagen.
- Syrianair (then Syrian Arab Airlines) last held a Swedish operating permit for the summer 2012 season. A separate 2025 request from Fly Cham for Sweden–Syria flights was closed without a decision after the proposed operating period ended.
- The Transport Administration referred the file to the government on 7 September 2026 with a recommendation to reject it. The government issued its final decision on 15 October.
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