Aleppo International Airport suspended all flight operations for 24 hours on Tuesday following intense military confrontations between Syrian government troops and Kurdish-led forces that resulted in multiple casualties. The civil aviation authority officially diverted all scheduled flights to Damascus International Airport as violence escalated throughout Syria’s second-largest city.
The deadly hostilities represent the most significant outbreak of violence between these factions in several months, with preliminary reports indicating at least nine fatalities, predominantly among civilian populations. The clashes concentrated particularly in districts with substantial Kurdish demographic presence, where tensions have remained consistently elevated.
This recent surge in violence underscores the fragile nature of the March 2026 agreement that proposed integrating Kurdish semi-autonomous administrative structures and military units into Syria’s central government framework. Implementation of this political roadmap has largely stagnated, creating a vacuum that periodically erupts into armed confrontations.
Northern Syria continues to be a complex geopolitical landscape where multiple international and regional powers maintain influence through proxy forces. The Aleppo region specifically remains strategically significant due to its economic importance and diverse demographic composition, making stability particularly challenging to maintain.
The temporary airport closure demonstrates how quickly security conditions can deteriorate in post-conflict Syria, where various armed groups maintain presence despite official government claims of restored sovereignty. Aviation authorities have not indicated whether the suspension might be extended beyond the initial 24-hour period, pending security assessments.