Damascus International Airport
The largest and busiest airport in Syria, Damascus International sees about 5.5 million passengers transit every year. The gateway received traffic from several regions around the world including Europe and the Middle East. There are many options for travelers to the region especially those coming from the United States.
Travelers on their way from America have their choice of a few carriers including Alitalia which flies from Boston Logan, Atlanta Hartsfield, Detroit Wayne County and Miami International; and Emirates Airlines which flies from Seattle International, San Francisco International and New York-JFK.
The airport is located about 18 miles outside of the Damascus, the capital city, just to the south. For those wanting to make the 30 minute journey into the center there are two transport options. An airport bus shuttle is available and leaves every 30 minutes for most of the day. There are also fixed-price yellow taxis that wait outside of the international arrivals terminal. These are often more comfortable than the bus but do charge higher rates.
Damascus International is fully equipped to deal with the many passengers who pass through its doors throughout the year. The airport has many shopping facilities including two duty free outlets and a few souvenir stores. There are a few restaurants, cafes and coffee houses near most of the gates as well.
Aleppo International Airport
The second busiest airport in Syria, Aleppo International sees just over one millions passengers pass through it annually.
Travelers coming from the United States have a few options on many different carriers including: Turkish Airlines, Washington Dulles, Houston George Bush International, Los Angeles International and New York-JFK and Royal Jordanian Ai Airlines flies from Detroit Wayne County and Chicago O’Hare International.
The airport is located about seven miles outside of the city which is a 20 minute journey. In similar fashion to the transport services at Damascus International, there is a bus shuttle services which goes straight into the city center. There are also a few private taxi companies which make the journey. These taxis generally wait outside of the international arrivals terminal.
The main passenger terminal has many facilities on offer including a banking center with ATMs, currency exchanges and a fully functional bank, a first aid station, duty free, souvenir stores and a post office.
Bassel al-Assad International Airport
One of the smaller airports in Syria, but nonetheless open to receive international air traffic, Bassel Al-Assad International serves the well-known port city of Latakia. Most of this gateway’s traffic comes from the Middle Eastern region with few scheduled direct international flights.
There are no direct flights from the United States but travelers can always make a connection in a nearby destination such as Cairo in Egypt or Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
Bassel Al-Assad is situated 16 miles outside of Latakia city center. While there are no bus services to make the journey there are several taxi services that do. These taxis wait outside of the arrivals terminal and offer reasonable rates for the relatively short trip.