Back in March 2008, I flew on Syrian Air B747SP-94 YK-AHB “Arab Solidarity” from Dubai to Aleppo. It was amazing to fly the B747-SP on this short flight but it was full of drama, chaos and tales to tell.

The flight suffered a 12 hours marathon delay in Dubai Airport due to a broken part. Syrian Air flew in their own mechanic to repair. After boarding, a fight broke out between the captain and frustrated passenger. During half way, our destination was changed from Damascus to Aleppo! Damascus Airport was closed for Arab Summit because of our lengthy delay. I was rather glad to have visited Aleppo city in 2008 before the war broke out later in Syria.

It is great to see Aleppo Airport have been re-opened last year and welcome traffic again. The Syrian Air B747-SP was sent for maintenance in Saudi Arabia but never returned to service since the civil war broke out in Syria.