Syria forms aviation group with Kuwaiti backers

12 August 2008
Syria has joined forces with Kuwaiti investors to form a new aviation group, Loloa Aviation.

The group is a three-way joint venture between the Syrian national carrier Syrian Arab Airlines, local investment group Al-Sham Holding, and the Kuwaiti group Aqeeq Aviation Holding, a subsidiary of Al-Aqeela Investment.

Al-Sham says Loloa will launch in the coming months with two aircraft, increasing its fleet to six planes by the end of 2009. The new company will work with Syrian Arab Airlines to bring business practices up to international standards.

The formation of the new company follows a decree by Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad, in March, sanctioning the establishment of a new aviation group in Syria, the country’s first such venture in some 40 years.

Loloa will operate under the regulations of the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

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