Mustafa Khairallah, head of the Media Department at Syria’s General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport, said the authority is preparing initial plans to reclassify Mezzeh Airport from a military facility into a limited civilian airport specializing in private and executive aviation, complementing Damascus International Airport.
The authority has begun carrying out preliminary work required to reclassify the airport, including removing rubble and conducting some infrastructure work related to air navigation, Khairallah told the Syrian Arab News Agency, SANA, on Thursday, September 3.
The work is proceeding alongside efforts to complete the technical and regulatory requirements needed to reclassify the airport and prepare it for limited, specialized civilian use.
Khairallah added that the project would be implemented in carefully planned stages, in cooperation with the relevant national institutions and alongside the completion of technical, operational, environmental, and regulatory studies.
He said the project would take into account the surrounding urban environment, noise levels, the nature and volume of air traffic, as well as various related legal and community considerations.
According to Khairallah, work on the project is intended to serve the public interest and contribute to developing Syria’s civil aviation system in line with approved standards and best practices.
Mezzeh Military Airport is the closest airport to the capital, Damascus, located less than eight kilometers from the city center and about one kilometer from the city’s eastern neighborhoods.
The airport contains helicopters and a runway used by military aircraft. It was also a stronghold of the former Air Force Intelligence Directorate and contained one of its prisons, where the former regime carried out executions of detainees opposed to it.
Artillery shells were also fired from the airport toward towns in Eastern Ghouta (Rural Damascus), particularly Darayya and Moadamiyet al-Sham, whose lands overlap with the airport perimeter.
The airport was struck by Israel several times, including once just days after the fall of the former regime.
For Private Aviation and Business Travelers
Omar Hosari, head of Syria’s General Authority of Civil Aviation and Air Transport, announced on July 27, 2025, a project to convert Mezzeh Military Airport into a civilian airport dedicated to private aviation and business travelers.
Hosari said the plan to convert Mezzeh Airport from a military facility into a civilian airport dedicated to private aviation is part of a development vision aimed at diversifying aviation services in Syria, reducing operational pressure on Damascus International Airport, and creating a specialized investment and commercial hub, according to SANA.
According to Hosari, the project is part of future studies intended to serve the Greater Damascus area and Syria’s central region, based on a vision that balances economic, environmental, and social considerations.
He added that the planned Mezzeh Airport model has been implemented in several countries in the region, citing Dubai Executive Airport, and said it had proven effective in attracting investment and creating a high-value-added business environment without affecting the efficiency of commercial airports.
The project to convert Mezzeh Airport aims to establish an integrated private aviation center capable of accommodating executive aircraft and modern electric aviation, in addition to supporting facilities within a broader project known as an “aviation community.” According to Hosari, this would include hotels, business facilities, aviation training institutes, maintenance facilities, and residential and commercial complexes surrounding the airport.