For over a decade, Syrian airspace was a no-fly zone that airlines wouldn't touch. Now it's one of the busiest corridors in the Middle East.
The timing couldn't be better for Damascus. Syria's new government introduced a flat overflight fee of $499 per flight earlier this year © Flight Radar
For over a decade, Syrian airspace was a no-fly zone that airlines wouldn't touch. Now it's one of the busiest corridors in the Middle East.
Nearly 12,000 aircraft crossed Syrian skies in May alone, more than double February's figure and a staggering 375% above the same month last year.
The reason: the Iran war that erupted on February 28 shut down Iraqi and Gulf airspace, forcing airlines to find alternatives fast. Syria, newly opened after Bashar al-Assad's ousting in late 2024, was suddenly the only viable route.
The timing couldn't be better for Damascus. Syria's new government introduced a flat overflight fee of $499 per flight earlier this year. At May's traffic levels, that translates to nearly $6 million in a single month — serious revenue for a country rebuilding from scratch after 14 years of civil war.
And the traffic keeps coming. With Gulf airspace still disrupted and airlines locked into new routings, Syria's skies are no longer an emergency detour. They're becoming a permanent fixture on the regional aviation map.
From pariah state to regional air hub, in under six months. The transformation is as unlikely as it is lucrative.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef (Joe) Rajji delivered one of the most candid assessments of his country's situation in years, speaking Saturday to the French daily Le Figaro, making clear that Hezbollah is strategically finished and that Lebanon will not allow Iran to negotiate on its behalf.
Lebanon's Maronite bishops have thrown their full support behind the Lebanese state and its ongoing direct negotiations with Israel, calling on all Lebanese to unite around their national institutions and army.
The funeral for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will begin in Tehran on July 4 and conclude with his burial in his hometown, the northeastern holy city of Mashhad, on July 9, state media reported on Saturday.
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