SyrianAir only has one operational passenger jet left

“Nobody, not even the most pessimistic, expected the condition of SyrianAir to reach the condition it has, with three planes going out of service over the last few months,” the party’s Al-Baath newspaper said in n report published December 6.

The daily warned that SyrianAir “continues to work with only one plane, which also [faces the] risk of going out of service at any time.”

Flight Radar 24—a site that monitors live air traffic—has registered the flights of two passenger jets registered to SyrianAir for the month of December. 

One jet, an Airbus A320-232 with the registration YK-AKA, has flown from Damascus to a number of destinations, including Bahrain, Dubai, Riyadh, Jeddah, Baghdad, Abu Dhabi, Algiers, Kuwait, Amman, Moscow and Najaf.

The airliner most recently landed in Bahrain International Airport early Friday afternoon.

SyrianAir’s only other recently operational passenger jet, an Airbus A320-232 with the registration YK-AKD, made just one flight in December, according to Flight Radar 24.

The jet left Damascus for Baghdad on December 4, landing in the Iraqi capital at 3:13 p.m. No return flight has been registered on public air traffic monitoring websites. 

Other than its passenger jets, SyrianAir continues to operate two Ilyushin IL-76T cargo planes, which have flown into Iran’s Abadan and Tehran airports in the past two weeks. 

Al-Baath accuses SyrianAir of mismanagement

In its unusually critical report, the ruling Baath Party’s daily blamed the airline’s woes on not only foreign sanctions, but also negligence among the management of the company.

“There has been a lack of seriousness in taking advantage of the opportunities that have been available to [SyrianAir],” the article said, pointing to the company’s failure to close a deal to acquire passenger jets from Ukraine’s Antonov aircraft manufacturer.

“For unknown reasons the institution abandoned this deal, [which was] negotiated for many months... [This] suggests that someone doesn’t want this institution to develop and advance its work."

Syria’s cabinet in March 2013 approved a contract to purchase 10 civilian aircrafts from the Ukrainian state-owned company. SyrianAir touted the deal at the time, saying it was planning to expand its fleet with Antonov 148 and 158 jets.

The Al-Baath report leveled harsh words at the management of SyrianAir, citing a source in Damascus International Airport as saying that the crisis looming over the airline is “connected to negligence and failure to take responsibility by many managers.”

“The institution has [made] several administrative, technical and financial mistakes and that [no one has been held] to account for them,” the source added.

"Competition" with Cham Wings Airlines

A pro-opposition media outlet claimed the Syrian regime was purposely hurting SyrianAir in order to help Cham Wings Airlines, which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s wealthy cousin Rami Makhlouf reportedly has a financial stake in.

“Observers believe that government action and lack of support for SyrianAir was in favor of Cham Wings Airlines,” Eqtsad net—which is run by the pro-rebel Zaman al-Wasl outet, reported Wednesday.

The report added that state-owned and pro-regime media outlets have started the treat Cham Wings Airlines as a “national alternative to SyrianAir.”

Based in Damascus, Cham Wings operates an Airbus A320-214 passenger jet that in December has made flights to Beirut, Baghdad, Muscat, Najaf, Kuwait City and Khartoum. The carrier also advertises flights to Dubai, Doha and Istanbul.

Cham Wings was founded in 2007 as part of the Syrian regime’s privatization efforts, becoming one of the first private-owned carriers in the country. 

Ullin Hope translated Arabic-language source materials for this article.