Syrian airline feels reach of sanctions
By An IWPR-trained reporter
Syria's national airline, Syrianair, is feeling the squeeze of United States
sanctions, as curbs on trade in US-made components keep the carrier from
growing at a time when air traffic through the Syrian capital, Damascus, is
rising.
Syrian officials say Washington thwarted a Syrianair plan to complement its
aging fleet with the purchase of new Airbus planes from Europe because they
contain American components.
The Syria Report website reported in October that Syrianair was reduced to
flying four Airbus A-320s, including one leased from
Jordan after Washington halted work on the engines of two others that had been
taken to Germany for repair. Syrianair bought the A320s in the mid-1990s.
The airline was considering an offer to buy two ATR72-900 planes from France
for 39 million euros (US$56.7 million), state-owned al-Ba'ath daily reported in
December. Such planes carry 68 to 78 passengers with a range of 1,500
kilometers.
The Airbus deal was seen as a sign of economic and political rapprochement
between Syria and France, where the planes are assembled, and to show Damascus'
intention to invest in refurbishing the airline.
Syrian Transport Minister Yarob Badr said that the US Commerce Department had
vetoed the sale of the planes to Damascus, the official Tishreen newspaper
quoted him as saying in a December 28 interview.
Although Airbus planes are made in Europe, they contain US-made parts, which
makes their sale to Damascus subject to American sanctions imposed on Syria in
2004. Washington accuses Damascus of sponsoring terrorism and has imposed a
series of punitive measures that prohibit the export to Syria of most goods -
excluding food and medicine - containing more than 10% of US-manufactured
components.
The Syrian national airline had lost an important opportunity to grow because
of the US embargo, an official working at the carrier told the Institute for
War and Peace Reporting. The recent US decision to renew the embargo was
unexpected, especially since the Americans had shown positive signs that they
were willing to lift the ban on Syria, he added, speaking on condition of
anonymity.
The official said Washington had initially agreed to allow the repair of two
aging Boeing 747s using US parts, as reported by official media in February
last year. He added that a delegation from Boeing had discussed the possibility
of selling US planes to Syrianair in the future.
In July, as a result of an improvement of relations between Washington and
Damascus, US officials said that their government would seek sanction waivers
to allow the export of certain goods, including aircraft parts and other
technology-related products.
The ailing Syrian airline company, considered to be one of the oldest and most
secure in the Arab world, was founded in 1946 and employs about 6,000 people.
Badr, the transport minister, said the Syrian company "will not be governed by
the US sanctions", while adding that the company was still discussing the
possibility of leasing Airbus planes for a short period.
Syria and Airbus have been negotiating an agreement since summer 2008 following
a landmark meeting in Paris between the French and the Syrian presidents that
pulled Syria out of its international isolation.
Earlier last year, Damascus signed a memorandum of understanding with the
European aircraft maker, stipulating the purchase of 14 planes by Damascus up
to 2018 and 36 more up to 2028, according to the state-run news agency SANA.
The company also agreed to help in the restructuring of Syrianair.
According to SANA, the agreement was renewed recently, prompting hopes that the
US could still revoke its decision.
Mahmoud Dahesh, a Damascus-based aviation expert, said the Syrian government
was trying to develop the fleet of the country's flag carrier to cope with
growing numbers of tourists coming to Syria since 2005.
Syria had six million visitors in 2009, an increase of 10% from the previous
year, SANA reported, citing Ministry of Tourism data. The increase in the
number of visitors and the inability of the national carrier to cope with the
growing demand have prompted the creation of two private Syrian airline
companies in recent years, Sham Wings and Damascus Pearl.
In an effort to find alternatives to the impasse, Badr told Tishreen that Syria
was about to sign a deal with Russian plane manufacturer, Tupolev, to first
lease two passenger jets for a year and later purchase them.
Dahesh said the Syrians were reluctant to purchase the Russian planes directly
because of fears they might be banned from flying to some European airports and
for other technical considerations.
Some analysts say that Syrianair had suffered setbacks not only because of US
sanctions. An economist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the company
had not purchased a new plane since 1998, years before the embargo was imposed.
"The problems of Syrianair are like those of public sector enterprises in
general, which are, in a nutshell, bureaucracy, administrative corruption and
sluggishness," he said.
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