(DAMASCUS, SYRIA) – Syria extended the closure of its southern air corridors and kept Damascus International Airport suspended through 11 p.m. Monday, June 8, 2026, forcing more schedule changes and reroutes for passengers using the capital. The move kept some Syrian Airlines service running through Aleppo Airport, but travelers booked to or from Damascus faced another day of disruption.

The Syrian civil aviation authority said the extension was tied to regional security concerns and aviation-safety assessments after continued monitoring of developments. The order covered both the airspace restrictions in southern Syria and airport operations in Damascus.

The disruption traces back to an earlier order issued on February 28, 2026. That notice closed the southern air corridors for 12 hours starting at 12:00 p.m. Damascus time and cited the escalation between Iran and Israel.

At that stage, the authority said flights would be handled through approved alternative routes while officials monitored conditions around the clock. That framework remained central to the later extension, with traffic diverted away from the affected corridors rather than halted across the entire network.

Damascus International Airport remained the main pressure point. Its suspension through Monday night disrupted a key gateway for Syrian Airlines and any travelers using Damascus as an entry point, transit point, or final destination.

Syrian Airlines used Aleppo Airport to preserve limited service. The carrier said its Damascus-Dubai flight would operate instead as Aleppo-Dubai, while Jeddah-Damascus shifted to Jeddah-Aleppo.

The practical effect for passengers was straightforward: a booking tied to Damascus did not guarantee travel through Damascus. Ground transport between the two cities became part of the journey for some travelers, especially those originally expecting direct airport access in the capital.

Regional carriers have repeatedly adjusted schedules, routings, and overflight paths during security flare-ups in the Middle East, so Syria’s decision fits a broader operating pattern across the region. Airlines generally favor longer routings or airport swaps before canceling every affected flight, because preserving even limited service protects aircraft rotations and stranded passengers.

Loyalty implications were limited compared with a fare-rule or program change, but they were not meaningless. A rerouted flight through Aleppo did not create a new mileage promotion or published earning bonus, and passengers on disrupted itineraries still needed to check the final operating details before relying on a flight for status credit or onward connections.

The authority later said all previously closed air corridors were reopened and Damascus International Airport returned to full operations after a technical evaluation and ceasefire-related de-escalation. That sequence suggests the June 8 extension was treated as a temporary safety measure rather than an open-ended shutdown.

The timeline remains tight. The initial closure began on February 28, 2026; the extension kept restrictions in place through 11 p.m. on June 8, 2026; the reopening came afterward, once officials completed a technical review.

Passengers with Syria itineraries booked through Damascus on Monday needed to verify whether their service had shifted to Aleppo Airport before leaving for the airport. After 11 p.m. Monday, Damascus operations were scheduled to resume, but the safest booking move remained the same: confirm the departure airport, flight number, and any ground-transfer plan before check-in closes.