Cham Wings Airlines Explained

Airline:Cham Wings Airlines
Fleet Size:4
Destinations:17
Iata:6Q
Icao:SAW
Callsign:SHAMWING
Founded:2007
Headquarters:Damascus, Syria
Key People:Issam Shammout, Chairman
Hubs:Damascus International Airport
Secondary Hubs:Aleppo International Airport
Frequent Flyer:Cham Miles
Website:www.chamwings.com

Cham Wings Airlines (Arabic: أجنحة الشام للطيران|links={{ill|أجنحة الشام للطيران|ar|vertical-align=sup, previously known as Sham Wing Airlines) is a private Syrian airline with its head office in Damascus, Syria.[1] [2] The company slogan is Fly Beyond The Limits.

History

Cham Wings Airlines was established on 9 July 2006 as the first private airline in Syria by independent Syrian businessman Issam Shammout. The main hub for the airline is Damascus International Airport. The company obtained officially an Aircraft Operators Certificate (AOC) issued by the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) on September 23, 2007.[3]

Although the AOC comes second after the main national carrier of Syria, Syrian Air, the AOC authorised the company to operate non-scheduled charter flights only. The company leased one MD aircraft and commenced its first flight from Damascus to Baghdad International Airport on 3 March 2008. In 2008, a newcomer entered the market under the name Syrian Pearl Airlines which was owned by Cham Holding at 69% (Rami Makhlouf major shareholder), Syrianair at 25%, and Aqeeq Aviation/Aquila Holding 6%, (Aqeeq and Al Deshtei Kuwaiti).[4]

The partnership with Syrian Air gave Syrian Pearl the opportunity to operate scheduled flights,[5] unlike Cham Wings which struggled in operating charter flights to destinations that Syrian Air hardly approves. Even though Syrian Pearl never started its operations, Cham Wings could not turn profitable operating only charter flights. The company terminated its operations in 2012 following the unrest in Syria.

In 2014, Cham Wings Airlines obtained the approval to operate scheduled flights becoming the second national carrier in Syria. It then recommenced its operations to serve destinations like Beirut, Kuwait, Baghdad, and Qamishli. In 2016, it was targeted by United States sanctions for providing support to the Syrian government.[6] [7] In 2018, the airline advertised transporting Syrian refugees in Germany from Munich to Damascus and back, which can lead to the loss of their asylum status.[8] In June 2021, Ukraine blacklisted the airline due to the flights to Crimea.[9] [10]

Due to ongoing 2021 Belarus–European Union border crisis, Cham Wings Airlines terminated their flights from Damascus to Minsk on short notice in November 2021, stating they cannot distinguish between regular travellers and illegal migrants.[11] In December 2021, European Union sanctioned Cham Wings Airlines, accusing it of flying migrants to the Belarusian-Polish border and exacerbating the crisis.[12] Switzerland joined the EU sanctions on December 20.[13] EU sanctions imposed as a result of this accusation were lifted on 19 July 2022.[14] [15]

Ownership

Cham Wings Airlines is 100% privately owned by Syrian businessman Issam Shammout. The airline is part of his family business, Shammout Groups which operate in the automotive, steel and freight sectors.[16]

Destinations

Cham Wings operates the following services (as of 1 June 2023):[17]

CountryCityAirportNotesRefs
ArmeniaYerevanZvartnots International Airport
BahrainManamaBahrain International Airport
IranTehranTehran Imam Khomeini International Airport
IraqBaghdadBaghdad International Airport
BasraBasra International Airport
ErbilErbil International Airport
NajafAl Najaf International Airport
KuwaitKuwait CityKuwait International Airport
LebanonBeirutBeirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport
LibyaBenghaziBenina International Airport
OmanMuscatMuscat International Airport
PakistanKarachiJinnah International Airport
RussiaMoscowSheremetyevo International Airport[18]
SudanKhartoumKhartoum International Airport
SyriaAleppoAleppo International Airport
DamascusDamascus International Airport
LatakiaBassel Al-Assad International Airport
QamishliQamishli Airport
United Arab EmiratesAbu DhabiZayed International Airport
SharjahSharjah International Airport

Fleet

The Cham Wings Airlines fleet comprises the following aircraft (as of June 2024):[19]

Aircraft! rowspan="2"
In serviceOrdersPassengersNotes/sources
CYTotal
Airbus A320-2003 - 156156YK-BAA, YK-BAB, YK-BAE, YK-BAG
1174174
Total4 -

Sponsorship

As of 2021, the airline has been the official jersey sponsor of the Syria national basketball team.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Contact Us. Cham Wings Airlines — Fly Beyond The Limits. 2016-05-22.
  2. News: Exclusive: Informants in Iraq, Syria helped U.S. kill Iran's Soleimani - sources . . January 9, 2020 . Michael . Gregory . Brian . Thevenot.
  3. Web site: Our Company. Cham Wings Airlines — Fly Beyond The Limits. 2016-05-22.
  4. Web site: Arab Aviation > Country Briefs > Syria > Syrian Pearl. www.arabaviation.com. 2016-05-22. 2016-03-23. https://web.archive.org/web/20160323200141/http://arabaviation.com/en-us/countrybriefs/syria/syrianpearl.aspx. dead.
  5. Web site: شركة طيران سورية خاصة تواجه منافسة محتدمة. صحيفة الوسط البحرينية. ar-AR. 2016-05-22.
  6. Web site: US imposes new sanctions on Cham Wings Airlines. SANA News Agency. 3 January 2017.
  7. Web site: December 23, 2016. Treasury Sanctions Additional Individuals and Entities in Response to Continuing Violence in Syria. live. Treasury.gov. https://web.archive.org/web/20170201111252/https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0690.aspx . 2017-02-01 .
  8. Web site: Einmal München-Damaskus und zurück. German.
  9. Web site: CHAM WINGS AIRLINES / SHAM WING AIRLINES / AJNEHAT AL SHAM / AL-SHAM WINGS. National Agency on Corruption Prevention.
  10. Web site: Україна повністю забороняє польоти російським авіакомпаніям. Чому і яким саме. BBC News Ukrainian. 2021-01-27. 2023-02-01. uk.
  11. https://www.spiegel.de/ausland/syrische-fluggesellschaft-stellt-fluege-nach-minsk-ein-a-ec91abb2-45b5-4a69-a046-28cd8b019007 spiegel.de - Syrian airline ends flights to Minsk
  12. Web site: 2 December 2021. EU, UK, US, Canada issue coordinated sanctions against Belarus regime. live. Deutsche Welle. https://web.archive.org/web/20211202164109/https://www.dw.com/en/eu-uk-us-canada-issue-coordinated-sanctions-against-belarus-regime/a-60000656 . 2021-12-02 .
  13. Web site: Searching for subjects of sanctions . live . State Secretariat for Economic Affairs . https://web.archive.org/web/20180401105021/https://www.seco.admin.ch/seco/en/home/Aussenwirtschaftspolitik_Wirtschaftliche_Zusammenarbeit/Wirtschaftsbeziehungen/exportkontrollen-und-sanktionen/sanktionen-embargos/sanktionsmassnahmen/suche_sanktionsadressaten.html . 2018-04-01 .
  14. News: La UE suspende sanciones contra la aerolínea siria Cham Wings aprobadas en 2021. El País. 19 July 2022. 20 July 2022. spanish.
  15. News: EU lifts sanctions on Syrian airline Cham Wings. 20 July 2022. 20 July 2022. Reuters.
  16. "http://www.syriandays.com/finance/?page=show_det&select_page=2&id=2524 "
  17. https://chamwings.com/our-destinations/ Our Destinations - Cham Wings
  18. News: Liu . Jim . Cham Wings W18 Damascus – Moscow service changes . 12 November 2018 . Routesonline . 12 November 2018.
  19. Web site: Cham Wings Airlines Fleet Details and History. www.planespotters.net. en. 2018-02-03.