SYRIA Syrian Arab Airlines chief executive, Talal Abdulkarim, talks to Martin Rivers about the flag-carrier’s intolerable challenges, and how Russia could help reverse t is fortunes gran Aa Ati (yan) provokda sco at then mesg the Arb A CaersOrpaaton AACO in ioin Novis cefesoule ba Ababa, The Syrian capital would not have been the ist, ng tomind when the AACO began makingplans forts 2019 meeting. Ill hones it ‘was probably bottom of thelist ‘Syria as by eight yeas of brutal civil war that began with an Arab Spring upising but ‘quickly morphed into a multi-faceted battle between regional governments, work! powers and spectrum ‘ofrebel groups- most notorious among them the Fanatical Islamists of Daesh, who atone point controlled roughly haf the country Withestimates forthe war’ death tollranningas high as half-million, the violence has een characterised by the very worst human sights abuses ‘onal sides. Troops loyal to Syrian President, Bashar al-Assad, areamong those accused of committing atrocities against civilians Tn this climateit was virtually impossible forthe AACO toaccept Syrian Air invitation, not least because of western sanctions prohibiting companies from developing busines ties in th count. Kisvait was ater announced as the 2019 hot >‘CONTIEDFROMPAGE 18 But Abdulkarim’simpassioned speech willnot be forgotten quickly by AACO delegates. Hisinvitaion underscored the Syrian ‘Goverament’s frm belie that the worst ofthe twoubles are now behind them, The nose ity ‘of fib —held bya group with suspected ties tol ‘Oucla—is the last remainingrebelstrangheld in the country: Daesh has lost almost alofits territory thanks toa two pronged assault by Syrian and Kurdish frees, resultingina sharp fallin mass-casualyterrocatacks. ‘Though the AACO does nat yet fee ey to hold its agship eventin Damascus, the capitals seeingan inereasein international conferences andliplomatic visi, “This is nota marketing campaign for Syria.” Abgulkarim said through translator. "The security situation in Damascus is safe. The only part where tension is presenti towards the north result the Turkish presence Estimating that the goverment has regained control of 90% ofthe country, he sid elforts by tir forces” 10" destroy Syrian society” have faked uncquivocally “And:withabsolte confidence Ian say that Syrian airspace isnow considered thesafestin the world, due tothe ight security control.” Cessation ofhostities Unfortunately for Abdulkarim, evena complete cessation of hostilities woukd not be enough ‘end SrianAir® isolation on the international ‘tage. The lagcarrier has hd itsactvitios impeded by US sanctions for almost wodecades consequence ofthe poor bilateral relationship betwen Damascus and Washington, “Therelease of confidential US diplomat ‘cables by Wikileaks ip 2010 shed much fight on Americas policy towards the ari ‘One diplomat wrote that Ameria considers SyrianAir to be “the regime aset most vulnerable tounlateral US sanctions, and where the effect ‘ofsanetions s most obvious tothe Syrian public” Another spokeabout US "elfortsto pressure the SARG [the Syrian Arab Republic Government] through withholding safety-related Ticenses" forts flagcarte. Wester sanctions against Syria's vil aviation seetor have locked the adn from buying new aircrat, while hindering its ability tokowp. ‘existing ones airworthy. Asin Iran, this approach has tho unpalatable consequence of endangering the safety of igh for passengers Thats why Arabian Aerospace oppose: sanctions against civilian arfines anywhere on the planet. ‘Despite the humanitarian impact ofits embargo, America tightened restrictions Syrian Airin 2015, when it accused the ail transporting lite cargoon behalf of Iran's Islamic Revelutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), The move camecne year after the European Union stepped upits own pressure on Syrian Air by banningit fom all EU airports 20 ey Pi ae eer Peer ed Pere errs crac cee eae’ Byrne as “The hurdles are securing spare pars, buying new aircraft toexpand and renew theflet and securing ground equipment forthe aixpors,” Abdulkatim explained, Inaddtion to that, there ae financial penalties, such as the suspensionof the accounts ‘ofthe organisation and the closure of all overseas bank accounts, as wellasthe suspension of our inemational insurance subscription, Alf this has resulted ina loss of funds that belong 0 the The immediate impact of sanctions is starkest whenlookingat Sysanairs depleted feet. ‘The flag-carier today has ust seven passenger sirraft on its books six A320s purchased new from Airbusin thelate 1990s, and one 18:ear- ‘old A340 that was sourced in 2017 with the help ‘of brokers operating in the black market. Twoof the A320sarecurrenlyheldin storage [Abdulkati sai, blaming an level ar sikeon Damascus Airport three o four years ago. In 2010, Syrian Airalso managed toobtaina pairof almost new ATR 72-500 turboprop. But both airralt are now held in storage, presumably ducto the difficulty of sourcing spare parts for maintenance. Succesveatempis to sia renewal contact with Arbus reportedly for upto 50 ineraft- were blocked by Washington around thesametime, “The challenges only heighten Abuulkarin’s sense of pride about his company’s safety record ‘Sinceits establishment in 1947 until now Syrian Arab Airlines has neverhad any accidents related to technical erors,"he beamed ‘Good traning, preparing or technicians prior (0201 1, having oso spare paris availa [conducting] daily safety inspections forthe aircraft and regular scheduled maintenance —this ishow the organisation was able to keep the Abuses ying. ‘Asked about Syrian Air current route network, he admitted that the fleets "not ig encugh to coverallof the requirements fair travel in Syria “Mote tana dozen destinations are served by its five funetioningsircraft,inchiding Abu Dba, Algers, Amman, Bapitad, Bahrain, Caro, Doha, Dubai, Khartoum, Kuwait, Moscow: Najafand Sharjah, That compares witha 30-poin network before the sirine was banned from Europe Neburds, problems orrestictions Flight frequencies are low, but the chief executive insisted there are no “hurls, problems or restrictions” bearing down onthe scheduled network, “Unfortunately themedia portrayed the situation asthe government has lost ll eontrol ver Syria,” hecomplained. "Infact from the beginning ofthecrsisunil heend, Damascus Airport kept runningon an unalfecied schedule that was never disrupted. ‘Abdulkarim also rejected US accusation that his eet isusod for military purposes "We don't have cargo irra," he si. *SyrianAirs lets made of medium size passenger airliners that havea capacity which ‘does not accommodate more than the baggage of the passengers, The sanctions ate unjust, llega andone-sided. Scepties would point out that three in-service pushin I-76 freightershave been painted in Syrian Ars livery, andthe types promoted onthe airline's websites providing “commercial eargo n2015, state-run newsagency, SANA,identiied SyrianAiras the operator of at east some ofthe I-76, stating that they are twansportingpublc institutions’ cargo”. The same freighters have been tracked by ‘western intelligence agencies ying across Syria andint Ian for presumed military missions blurring the boundaries Syrian ie’ support rolefor its government owner However, the official stance i that the I-76 are operated by the Syrian Air Foree and donot Fallunderthe busines activities ofthe Mag ‘Other Russan-made stcratcan also ‘occasionally be spotedin Syrian Airs colours “The government owns apa of Tupolev Ta 154s, atest one of which registration YK- AYB)isused as diplomat jet forthe head of. state and other officals. Despite being three and: a-ha decades ol, both airframes sill appear 10 beinservice: YK-AYB was photographed landingin the Belarusian capital, Minsk, in September ‘SyrianAi also previously operated Tu 154s ‘again dating from the mid-1980s~ andthe ‘company signed (but did not ul a tentative onde or three Tu-204s in 201, justas the Airbus talks were unravelling. Exceptionally stronz diplomatic and security relations between Damascus and Moseaw would seem tomake Russian-buil aircraft the obvious solution for bypassing western sanctions. Yet ‘officals at both Syrian Air and the county 'scivil aviation authority have declined repeated invitations refleot with Russian aircraft ‘Safety is believed tobe the main stumbling block. Syrian ies virtually unblemished safety record isdown not just tothe airline maintenance staff ar Serre) rene cer etry pointed in Syrians livery who Abdilkarim deserves as“globlly renowned fr being highly skilled” but alsotoa Jongstanding bias for western metal Current generation Russian alter ‘opinion of most industry experts, less technologically advanced and more proneto accidents, However, the capabilites gap between western and Rusian aircraft manafoctarersappeats #9 be narrowing ~and Syrian stands tobe a major beneficiary ‘Ourrfriends in Russia have a new product called the MC-21, which s comparable toand ‘utelasses simi models from Airbus and Boing,” Abdiulkarim sid in reference to Ikut's new nafrow-body design, which s being marketodas a rival tothe AS20ne0 and 737 MAX. Operatingcast advantage Russian Government claims are tobe belived, the MC-21 will offera 12-158 operating cost advantage over contemporary alternatives European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) plots have begun test lights onthe type. which isdue toenter commercial serve in 2020, Abdutkarim freely admits tha his preference would be placing direct orders with Abus. "Tt makes sense to avoid the extra cost of retraining the eam towork ona new model,” heexplned But the main priority is tocontinve operating and, inorder to do that, need tofind alternatives incase the Europeansdecide to continue with the Syrian Airis therefore tlkingto Irkut about anorder fora least 15 to 20 irera”, with deliveries expected between 2022 and 2025, That would return the fleet toitsoriginal izein SYRIA rly 20008, when Bocing 727sand TA7SPs ko operated bythe aie Crucially rkut is working to replace the MC 21s US-made Pratt & Whitney PW 1000G engines with locally produced Aviadvgatel PD turbofans, “The switch reflects Moscow's growing desire toumtangleitsomestic industries from western supply chains ~adependeney that leaves strategic part ofthe Russian economy exposed ‘sanctions. Though it willbe sometime before MC21 prediction lines are fully autonomous, Abdilkarim believes the threshold needed tode fangsanctions has already been passed, The medi 80% Russian," e noted. “And wehave words from the company's management that they wereuble to get approval rom the board members tobegin selling the product.” Asked forts perspeciveon a possible deal between irkut and Syrian Air the US Treasury Fired a warning shot to Russa: Anyone that providesmateral support to, or knowingly ‘engages in significant transactions with, SyrianAirmay themselves be sanctaned by the United States. Even putting aside the threat of sanctions, Syria facesimmense challenges onthe path to normalisation, Mindles bloosleting Yearsof conflict have lt many peop particularly westemers, unable toassocite the ‘country with anything other than mindless bloodleting, Bt, just as Beirut rehabilitated itsimage ater barons long and bral civil war, Damascus will, inevitably, one day be seen asjust another tal ity Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) trai will almost certainly be the driving force bbhind this recover. fostering inks with dl outside word long before tourists and business travellers return, “Abdulkarim recalled how dozens of foreign airlines le 1 Sia before the war, including major European carters ke Air Prance and Alitalia, The UAE alone had 35 weekly lights to the county “Today in sharp contrast, Syrian skiesare dominated by just the flag carrer and Churn ‘Wings a privately owned domestic rival. The only foreign airlines serving the country are rain and lag That represents tiny fraction of the ar transportnetwork hat Syria 19 milion ekizens willood if they are to bepin re-building thee homeland "Nomatter how reluctant westem powers may be toengage with President Assad, commercial yng in the county is destined to grow exponentially from its current, depressed level “Thereis total securityand stably” Abgulkarim concluded. "There is no reason for airlines to keep their operations suspended at, Damaseus Airport 1 Interview translated by Mohammed Emad. 24