Syrian airline Fly Cham launches flights to UAE’s Sharjah as ties warm
The United Arab Emirates is relatively bearish on Syria’s Islamist government, though ties are advancing both politically and economically.
A Syrian airline launched flights to Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday in a sign of warming relations as the United Arab Emirates cautiously engages with the new Syrian government.
The Sharjah Airport Authority announced that the Damascus-based Fly Cham conducted its first flight to Sharjah city from the Syrian capital on Thursday. The airline will operate five weekly flights between Damascus and Sharjah, as well as two weekly flights between Aleppo and Sharjah, the official Emirates News Agency reported.
Fly Cham came onto the scene in May and is reportedly backed by both Syrian and Emirati investors. The airline already operates flights from Damascus to both Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Why it matters: Like other Gulf states, the UAE has sought to engage with the new Syrian government, including via air travel. The Dubai-based Emirates airlines resumed flights to Damascus in June after suspending the route in 2012 due to the Syrian civil war.
