Syria Plans New Commercial Airline despite War

A new Syrian commercial airline plans to start operating to several Arab cities next month, its chairman told Agence France Presse on Thursday, despite the conflict raging in the country.

"We hope to operate our first flights in mid-May," Kinda Airlines chairman Naim al-Jarrah said, adding that the exact timing of the launch hangs on international insurance issues and aircraft testing.

Founded three years ago, the Damascus-based Kinda Airlines received a licence in 2013 to fly from the capital and the western city of Latakia to several Arab countries.

Jarrah also said Aleppo and Qamishli airports, in the north and northeast, are currently up for expansion, "once they receive international insurance deemed necessary by passengers" amid the brutal war that has ravaged much of Syria for more than three years.

So far, Kinda Airlines has obtained permits to fly to Baghdad, Amman and Kuwait City.

It is awaiting permission to fly to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Lebanon, Jarrah said.

The company has a fleet of four Airbus 320s, including a standby emergency aircraft.

It plans to start with domestic flights, and then operate to Arab cities, then east Asia and finally to Europe, Jarrah said.

Asked whether the company would be affected by Western sanctions imposed on Syria's official airline after the government cracked down on dissent in 2011, Jarrah said the sanctions "do not affect private companies".

He also said that although Arab states have imposed sanctions of their own on Syria, "their sanctions do not target the official carrier, which is still operating flights to several Gulf states, Egypt and Algeria".