Flights between Istanbul, Syria's Aleppo resume after 13 years

Türkiye's flag carrier Turkish Airlines, low-cost carrier AJet restarts flights from Istanbul's airports to Aleppo, says transport minister

ISTANBUL

Scheduled passenger flights resumed between Istanbul and Syria's Aleppo on Friday after a 13-year pause, Türkiye's Transport Ministry announced.

"As of today, Turkish Airlines has started passenger flights on the Istanbul-Aleppo line and will operate flights three times a week, on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays," Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said in a statement.

Uraloglu stated that Turkish Airlines will increase its flights on the Istanbul-Aleppo route to five days a week as of Aug. 15, and to seven days a week as of Sept. 1.

The low-cost carrier AJet will also operate its first flight on Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen Airport-Aleppo route on Saturday.

"We will operate flights on the Sabiha Gokcen-Aleppo route every day of the week, starting Aug. 4," Uraloglu said.

With the addition of Aleppo flights following the Damascus flights that began in January, Turkish Airlines, Türkiye's flag carrier, has increased its number of destinations in Syria to two.

Turkish Airlines is offering travel on the Istanbul-Aleppo-Istanbul route starting from $299 with tickets purchased as of July 25, 2025.

Prices are valid for tickets purchased through the Turkish Airlines official website and may vary at different sales offices and agencies.