Departure
94%
vs 95% ▼ 1
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Damascus International Airport (OSDI/DAM) is Syria's principal international gateway, serving the capital with two parallel hard-surfaced runways capable of handling long-haul traffic. It has been the hub of Syrian Arab Airlines since its 1968 inauguration and has seen recurring closures and runway damage during the Syrian civil war and subsequent regional conflict. For the simulator pilot it offers a large, historically significant Middle Eastern airfield with full ILS approaches on both runway directions.
Damascus International Airport is the main airport of Syria, situated close to the capital and serving as the home base of the national carrier, Syrian Arab Airlines (Syrian Air). It is of interest to the simulator pilot both for its scale, with two very long parallel runways designed for heavy jet traffic, and for its turbulent recent history, having been damaged and temporarily closed several times during the Syrian civil war and subsequent regional strikes.
The airport lies at coordinates 33.4108 N, 36.5133 E, at an elevation of 2005 feet, in the Damascus Countryside area just outside the Syrian capital. It sits within controlled airspace served by an approach control frequency, indicating radar or procedural approach service is provided to arriving and departing traffic.
Damascus International has two physical parallel runways, both hard-surfaced and lit. The 05L/23R runway is 11,757 feet long, with an ILS available on the 23R approach. The 05R/23L runway is 11,779/11,778 feet long, with an ILS available on the 05R approach. Both runways are of the same generous width and length class, suited to wide-body international traffic.
Approach control operates on 120 MHz, the ATIS broadcasts on 128.225 MHz, and the tower frequency is 118.5 MHz. Both main runway directions have ILS approaches available, 05R and 23R, providing precision guidance for instrument arrivals.
Construction of the airport was decided in 1965 and completed three years later, with the works carried out by a French consortium; the airport was inaugurated in 1968, an event marked by a commemorative stamp. By the 1980s it was served by more than thirty airlines, with nonstop flights to Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, and it featured as a stop-over on a Pakistan International Airlines route between Karachi/Islamabad and New York/Toronto. In March 2007 Iran Air inaugurated a Tehran to Caracas service routed via Damascus, later taken over by its codeshare partner Conviasa. With the onset of the Syrian civil war the airport and its approach roads were repeatedly closed and most international carriers suspended services. In June 2022 the airport suffered major damage, including to its runways, following an Israeli missile attack targeting alleged weapons transfers, halting flights for two weeks. On 2 January 2023 another Israeli strike put the airport temporarily out of service, with operations resuming around seven hours later once repairs were made. On 12 October 2023 the airport was again closed temporarily after a runway was damaged in further Israeli strikes linked to conflict across the border.
Damascus International Airport remains the hub of Syrian Arab Airlines and the country's principal gateway for international traffic. Following years of disruption during the civil war, there have been efforts by regional carriers, including from the Gulf, to resume direct flights to Damascus, alongside reported interest in renovation and investment in the airport's infrastructure. Given the recent history of runway damage and intermittent closures, current operational status should always be checked before planning any flight, real or simulated, to this field.
