Syria’s geopolitical situation has morphed rapidly over the past year. The change in leadership has changed the country’s alignment to a friendlier stance with western countries which has taken the middle eastern country onto a path out of isolation. Some foreign airlines have already resumed services to Damascus while others, such as Etihad Airways, have just announced they will commence flights.
In this post:
- Why Etihad Is Adding Damascus to Its Network
- Flight Details
- Launch Date and Frequency
- Aircraft and Onboard Experience
- Etihad Airways Flight Schedule
- CEO Antonoaldo Neves on the New Route
- Sign up to my newsletter
Why Etihad Is Adding Damascus to Its Network
I hinted to some reasons why Etihad Airways is looking at launching a new service from Abu Dhabi to Damascus in the post opener. The country has somewhat stabilized in the past months allowing trade and people to travel in and out of the country in relative safety.
Aligning more with the US and other western came with the lifting of some sanctions opening new business opportunities for foreign companies in the country. Therefore goods and people are traveling more frequently to Syria.
Finally the instability of the last 10-15 years has created a huge expat communities of Syrians around the world, with 350,000 in the UAE alone. That creates huge opportunities for airlines to link them to their home country.
Flight Details
Etihad will be setting up its own flight from Abu Dhabi to Damascus. Emirates, fellow UAE carrier, has already resumed its services to the country. Flights are readying to start but there’ll be a bit of a wait before the new Etihad flight EY561 from Abu Dhabi to Damascus takes off.
Launch Date and Frequency
Launch date for Etihad’s flight from Abu Dhabi to Damascus, flight EY561, is scheduled for June 12th 2026. More than 6 months down the road.
Leveraging one of its smaller planes Etihad will be offering a high frequency of service on the route right off the bat. There will be 4 weekly flights served by Etihad Airways under flight number EY561, every:
- Monday
- Wednesday
- Friday
- Saturday
Aircraft and Onboard Experience
Touching again on the aircraft type I just mentioned above, Etihad will be utilizing for Abu Dhabi to Damascus flights, on service EY561, some of its smallest planes. Specifically the aircraft of choice is the Airbus A320.
These aircraft are often found on sectors to India and within the Gulf region. Although they feature a 2 class configuration, they are not set up with the fancier interiors seen on the brand new Airbus A321LR that started joining the Etihad Airways fleet this year.
These A320 aircraft in the Etihad fleet come with:
- 8 Business class recliners in a 2-2 layout.
- 150 Economy class seats in a 3-3 layout.
So no nice flat bed seats for this short 3 hour hop from Abu Dhabi to Damascus.
Etihad Airways Flight Schedule
Timing of the flight is as for many other middle eastern services. It departs allowing passengers to connect from other Etihad services, both long and short haul, onwards to Damascus.
| Flight | From | To | Departure | Arrival | Plane |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EY561 | Abu Dhabi (AUH) | Damascus (DAM) | 09:15 | 11:30 | A320 |
| EY562 | Damascus (DAM) | Abu Dhabi (AUH) | 15:00 | 19:00 | A320 |
CEO Antonoaldo Neves on the New Route
“This new route reflects our commitment to connecting people to the places that matter most to them. We are proud to expand our network into Damascus – one of the world’s most historic and culturally important cities – and to support the Syrian population with direct links to and from Abu Dhabi, as well as convenient onward connections across our global network. With trade between the UAE and Syria continuing to grow strongly, and with a vibrant Syrian community contributing to the prosperity of the UAE, these new flights will further strengthen our social, cultural, and economic ties.”