Israel quietly lifts block on Syrian airport night flights

Syria's two main international airports can now operate night flights after Israel reportedly lifted a months-long block on the activation of new navigation systems in Damascus and Aleppo.

The Syrian General Authority for Civil Aviation and Air Transport announced that it had completed calibration and flight testing of modern navigation equipment at Damascus and Aleppo international airports.

The systems will allow the airports to operate around the clock, including at night and during fog, poor visibility and difficult weather conditions, according to Syria's official *SANA *news agency.

However, the equipment had reportedly been installed and ready for more than six months, with Syria unable to activate it because Israel had objected to the flights required to calibrate the systems.

Regional officials and diplomats told Middle East Eye that Israel had previously threatened to shoot down the specialist aircraft used to carry out the tests.

The apparent lifting of the Israeli objection represents a significant development for Syria's efforts to rebuild its battered civil aviation sector and restore international connections following years of war and sanctions.

The new equipment includes an Instrument Landing System with Distance Measuring Equipment (ILS/DME), which helps aircraft safely approach and land in darkness or poor visibility, and a DVOR/DME system used by aircraft to establish their direction and distance from an airport.

Syria's civil aviation authority said the upgrades would increase the number of flights the airports could accommodate and help open new routes connecting the country with regional and international destinations.

17 Syrian, Arab and international airlines currently operate from Damascus International Airport, while 14 use Aleppo, according to the authority.

Why did Israel oppose the airport upgrades?

According to Middle East Eye, the problem centred not on the navigation equipment itself but on the flights necessary to calibrate it.

Specialist aircraft normally have to fly repeated patterns around an airport to test navigation signals and ensure the systems are accurate before they can be used by passenger aircraft.

The original calibration process reportedly required the aircraft to operate within a radius of around 50 kilometres from Damascus airport, which brought it closer to areas considered sensitive by Israel.

Officials said a technical compromise was eventually developed reducing the calibration area to a radius of around 25 kilometres.

Syrian authorities informed Israel of the revised flight plans but received no response, according to the report. The calibration flights subsequently went ahead without Israeli intervention.

*SANA *reported on 17 September that testing had begun at Damascus airport using a specialised calibration aircraft, with work expected to take around four days before the aircraft moved to Aleppo.

The civil aviation authority confirmed a week later that testing at both airports had been successfully completed and the systems had entered service.

The development comes as Syria attempts to restore regional and international air links following the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

Syrian airports were repeatedly targeted by Israeli air strikes under Assad, with Israel saying it was attempting to disrupt Iranian weapons transfers to Hezbollah and other Iran-aligned groups.

Israel has continued carrying out strikes inside Syria under the country's new authorities and has expanded its military presence in southern Syria, while demanding the demilitarisation of areas close to its border.

At the same time, Damascus and Israel have held indirect and direct talks aimed at establishing new security arrangements between the two countries.

The apparent decision not to intervene against the calibration flights could therefore mark a small but tangible easing of Israeli restrictions on Syria's civilian infrastructure, although neither side has publicly announced an agreement covering the airports.