More Syrians Turn to Air Travel as Roads Prove Unsafe

By Raheel Ibrahim*

(Damascus and Latakia, Syria) – Dima is from the Syrian coastal city of Latakia, and had never flown in an airplane before the uprising in Syria began two years ago. Now, because travel on Syria’s roads so dangerous, the 25 year-old student of Arabic literature at the University of Damascus is a seasoned flyer.

“[Flying] was a dream, but the dream has become reality,” she said as she waited at Damascus Airport to board a plane bound for Latakia, and asked that her last name not be used. “But the truth is painful. We have become afraid for our lives on the ground, so we have to fly just to get to our village, not even to travel to another country to visit.”

Air travel is no longer a luxury in Syria, as more Syrians like Dima prefer to fly rather than risk crossing through disputed and unsafe areas by land.  The insecurity has led to a rise in the demand for domestic flights, and has caused the airport to replace the bus station for many of those travelling inside Syria.

The road to the Damascus International Airport is safer than most in Syria, mainly because the Syrian army has deployed checkpoints along the road to the airport to avoid any attempt by opposition fighters to sneak through, especially from outskirts of the town of Saham, which intersects the airport road.

The Syrian military needs to maintain a strong presence on the road, due to its location.  The airport is 25 kilometers southeast of the Syrian capital, surrounded by the Eastern Ghouta region of the Damascus countryside, a hotbed of opposition activity. In the past, the opposition fighters targeted the airport road, which sparked clashes with the military, and led many Syrians to be wary of travelling this way. It also prompted many to book their international flights from Beirut.

Most people going to Damascus’s airport travel during the daylight hours, during which there is usually a steady stream of light traffic.   Drivers pass abandoned buildings, whose residents left following several clashes between government and opposition forces.

The airport building is nearly empty save for the employees who inspect bags and tickets for the travellers,. There are around 150 travelers who are waiting for the only three flights today, to Latakia, Amman and Abu Dhabi.

Air travel is not financially feasible for everyone; in Syria these days, the cost of living is high, as is the unemployment rate.

Suhaib, 28, an employee at the telecommunications company, said he cannot afford to pay the 2,500 Syrian Pounds (about $25) price of an airline ticket every time he wants to travel between Latakia and Damascus. [  ]

“My monthly salary is not enough for travel expenses,” he said.

There are no longer any bus company offices to sell tickets after they were hit by random shells fired by rebels in the area of Qaboun,[ ] which has witnessed heavy fighting since the summer of 2012 that claimed the lives of dozens of civilians. Gunmen later destroyed the station so the buses were transferred to Abbasiyeen quarter, where tickets are now issued at the station.

Hani al-Jamal, 45, works as a driver on the Damascus-Latakia line for Al Maher company.

“People still travel through by bus, but the number is down from what it was before,” he said. “Many times we got halfway there when we were forced to return to Damascus because of clashes. The road is no longer safe, but there is no alternative; people must travel.”

Kidnappings of travelers along the roads have reinforced passengers’ fears and bolstered air travel.

“Every time I travel, I am afraid of being kidnapped,” said Mona, 35, a school teacher.

“But the plane did not replace the bus for us,” she added. “My family is big and we cannot all travel by air.

Bus fares rose as well, from 200 to 500 Syrian Pounds per passenger, along with prices of all kinds of internal travel. The cost of a taxi from the Damascus neighborhood of Bab Touma to another neighborhood, Baramkeh, rose to 500 Pounds, and from Baramkeh to the airport or vice versa, the fare went from 3,000 to 4,000 pounds. Damascus city bus prices rose by 10 Pounds due to the higher fuel prices and overcrowding.

According to Syrian government’s official news agency, SANA, the board of directors of Syrian Arab Airlines, the country’s state-owned airline, has agreed to increase the discount on the price of tickets for members of the military and security forces from 25 percent to 50 percent, effective from the first of March to the end of December. Members of the judiciary and state prosecutors also receive a 25 per cent discount.

Airlines belonging to or based in European Union or Arab Gulf countries are not operating flights into or out of Syria due to the economic sanctions.

A source at Syrian Airlines, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the airline flies regularly to every Arab country, but the Gulf States are not allowing any of their carriers to fly to Syria. Syrian Airlines still operates biweekly flights to Moscow and Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.

Syrian Air also increased the number of domestic flights to all the provinces, especially Latakia and Qamishli, as well as some flights to Aleppo, but not Deir El Zor, due to the security situation there, the source said. The source added that the domestic flights are essentially a financial loss, and do not make up for the profits lost as a result of the major international destinations such as Berlin, London and Brussels being cut off.

As more people are flying as a response to  the lack of safety on the roads, many long for the days of safe, land-based transportation.

“The plane is a substitute for the bus, and the airport is a substitute for the bus station, but it’s only nice if it’s something we chose, rather than something that was forced on us, if it is a luxury rather than an escape from death,” says Dima, the Arabic literature student from Latakia. “I fulfilled my dream of flying, but I miss the bus, and I long for security.”

* Raheel Ibhraim is a pseudonym for a journalist living in Syria