Alan George/DAMASCUS
SYRIA IS MOVING to improve its air-transport infrastructure as talks with Israel on a peace accord continue to make progress. National carrier Syrianair and the Civil Aviation Directorate are both looking to re-equip their operations.
Syrianair is talking to major aircraft manufacturers about a fleet-renewal programme for its aging fleet. Groups from Airbus, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas have all visited Damascus recently.
Discussions have also been under way with regional-jet suppliers. Avro Aerospace visited the Syrian capital Damascus in 1994 with an RJ70. The country's economy minister, Dr Muhammad Imadi, has since met British Aerospace officials in the UK for further talks.
The flag carrier badly needs new aircraft. Most of its six Boeing 727s and its two Boeing 747SPs date from 1976, and two Sud-Aviation Caravelles, which are used on domestic flights, were first flown in 1966.
The ex-Soviet fleet, consisting of six Tupolev Tu-134As, four Ilyushin Il-76M freighters, one Antonov An-26, one Yakovlev Yak-40 VIP aircraft and three Tupolev Tu-154Ms, are at least 15 years old, with the exception of the Tu-154Ms, built in 1984.
Syria, however, remains on the US State Department's list of those countries, which support international terrorism. It is subject, therefore, to export restrictions, but these are often waived for civil-aviation equipment.
Funding could remain a problem. Western and/or Gulf financing would be an essential element in Syrianair's fleet-renewal plans. Western funds would almost certainly become more readily available after a peace agreement with Israel, which could be signed within the coming year.
The Civil Aviation Directorate has similar funding problems on a project to build the country's first integrated civil national air-control system. Major companies such as Westinghouse, Plessey-Siemens, Alenia and Thomson-CSF submitted bids in 1994, although the project has been delayed - possibly because of funding constraints.
Syria has three international airports - at Damascus, Aleppo and the port of Lattakia.
Source: Flight International
