How to get to | Syria

This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the Contact link at the top, or leave a comment.

Syria

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Buses connect Syria with Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Airlines flying to Syria (Damascus only unless specified) include:

• Star Alliance – Austrian, bmi, EgyptAir (also Aleppo), Turkish (also Aleppo)
• Oneworld – Iberia, Malev, Royal Jordanian (also Aleppo)
• Sky Team – Aeroflot, Air France, Alitalia, Czech, TAROM
• Other selected – most Middle Eastern airlines

TIP Longhaul fares to Syria are not particularly cheap. Try flying to Turkey or Egypt instead with a connecting flight on a separate ticket.

TIP Syria is considered part of Europe for special fares and awards and thus can be good value.  This applies on around the world fares, certain longhaul fares to Europe (where intra-Europe flights are charged a per sector cost) and awards. Routing options, however, are more limited than most other neighbouring countries due to less airlines flying to Syria.

UPDATED August 2010 – Updated for TAM and Aegean joining Star Alliance, Shanghai leaving Star Alliance, Vietnam Airlines and TAROM joining Sky Team. No change to advice.