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Syrian Arab Airlines also known as SyrianAir is the national airline of Syria. It operates both domestic and international services and its main base is Damascus International Airport. Syrian Air is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization.
The origin of Syrian Arab Airlines can be traced back to 1946, when its forerunner Syrian Airways was established. Its first internal and external flights were carried out using helicopters. Syrian Air was established in October 1961 by the Government of Syria to succeed Syrian Airways. In 1963, when the Syrian Revolution took place, Syrian Air entered jet age by acquiring four Super-Caravel jet-engine planes. After the Syrian Revolution, Syrian Air went for a major expansion of its fleet. It included new 747-SP Jumbo jets and 727-200 aircraft from Boeing as well as the Russian built TU-154 in its fleet. When the United States imposed sanctions on Syria, updates to Syrianair were interrupted until October of 1998, when Airbus A320-200 were bought.
Syrian Air currently operates scheduled international services to over 51 destinations in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North Africa. In India Syrian Air flies to Delhi and Mumbai. As on January 2005, Syrian Air had a fleet of 33 aircrafts. These included 6 Airbus A320-200, 6 Boeing 727-200, 2 Boeing 747SP, 2 Antonov An-24B, 6 Antonov An-26, 3 Ilyushin Il-76M, 1 Ilyushin Il-76T, 1 Tupolev Tu-134B, 5 Yakovlev Yak-40, 1 Yakovlev Yak-40K.