DAN AIR expands its network from Bucharest to the Middle East and the Caucasus from July 1
Romanian air carrier DAN AIR has announced a new expansion of its network from Bucharest and, from July 1, 2026, is adding four destinations to its flight schedule that connect Romania with the Middle East and the Caucasus. According to the company announcement reported by Romanian and specialized aviation media, flights from Henri Coandă International Airport in Bucharest are being introduced to Amman in Jordan, Yerevan in Armenia and Tbilisi in Georgia, while Aleppo in Syria is becoming a permanent destination in the carrier's network. All four routes are planned for operations with a 180-seat Airbus A320 aircraft.
The announcement comes at a time when DAN AIR is seeking to strengthen its position in the scheduled commercial flights market, after the company in recent years developed a network from Romanian airports and gradually opened routes to destinations that larger European carriers generally do not cover directly. According to data published by the company, DAN AIR carried more than 272,000 passengers in 2025, which is growth of more than 30 percent compared with 2024, with the carrier claiming that 98 percent of flights were operated on time. These figures are part of the company's argument that there is demand for direct connections to regions that, in European air traffic, are often dependent on transfers.
Four new routes and flight schedule
According to the schedule published by the company, the Bucharest – Amman route should operate three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Flights to Yerevan have been announced twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and the route to Tbilisi is also planned on the same days. Aleppo should be added to the network twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays, making the Syrian city a permanent point in the carrier's program, and not only a temporary or extraordinary operation.
The specialized portal Aviation Week also states that all new services will depart from Bucharest's Henri Coandă airport and that they are part of a broader plan to connect Romania with destinations in the regions of the Middle East and the Caucasus. According to the same source, DAN AIR has also confirmed requests for traffic rights for additional future routes to Baghdad, Baku, Beirut and Cairo. Those routes, according to the available information, still depend on approvals from the competent authorities and bilateral air agreements, so at present they are not routes that have already been launched.
The company states that the new destinations will be sold through its website and mobile application. DAN AIR's official website, according to information available on May 12, 2026, already shows the company's offer of flights and services, including basic information on passenger services, bookings and current destinations. For passengers, it is also important that announced air traffic schedules may change due to operational, regulatory or security circumstances, especially on routes to regions in which airspace and permits have a more pronounced political and security dimension.
Aleppo becomes a permanent destination
The decision for Aleppo to become a permanent destination in DAN AIR's network carries particular weight in the announcement. According to an article published in the Romanian edition of Piața Financiară, the company thereby wants to strengthen its presence in Syria, where it already flies to Damascus. The announcement states that, after adding Aleppo, DAN AIR would be the only air carrier from the European Union simultaneously operating flights to two Syrian cities, Damascus and Aleppo. That claim refers to the scheduled operations that the company is announcing for summer 2026 and to its own positioning in relation to the market.
For DAN AIR, Aleppo is not a completely new point in traffic terms. According to the Romanian source referring to the company announcement, the carrier had already operated temporary flights to that Syrian city in 2025 and 2026 in the context of restrictions in the airspace around Damascus. Turning the route into a permanent line, according to the company's interpretation, reflects a more stable operational picture and demand for direct connection of the Syrian market with the European Union.
The Syrian routes also carry a broader context at the same time. Air traffic to Syria has for years been affected by war, security assessments, international restrictions and the caution of European carriers. Enab Baladi, a Syrian media outlet covering events related to Syria, reported that the company linked the announcement with the country's gradual return to international air flows, but also that Syrian airspace continues to be accompanied by cautious classifications and security assessments. For that reason, for such routes it is especially important to distinguish the carrier's commercial announcement from final operational implementation, which depends on regulatory, security and market circumstances.
Connecting with the Caucasus and the Middle East
The new routes to Yerevan and Tbilisi position DAN AIR toward the Caucasus, a region that has gained additional importance for European carriers in recent years also because of air corridors between Europe and Asia. In passenger traffic, the capitals of Armenia and Georgia are increasingly included in the networks of regional and low-cost carriers, but direct connections depend on demand, seasonality and aircraft availability. According to the announcement by the portal Georgia Today, DAN AIR should open a new direct connection from Bucharest to Tbilisi from July 1, 2026, in parallel with the routes to Amman and Yerevan.
Amman, the capital of Jordan, fits into the expansion toward the Middle East, where European carriers combine tourist, business and diaspora demand. For Bucharest, such a route may mean an additional possibility for direct travel to Jordan, but also an attempt by the carrier to fill market niches that are not the focus of large European network companies. According to company statements reported by Romanian media, DAN AIR bases its strategy precisely on destinations that it assesses as underserved and having room for growth.
In a statement reported by Piața Financiară, DAN AIR representatives said that a year ago they launched flights to Damascus because, in their assessment, millions of people were waiting for direct connectivity with the European Union. The same statement adds that the company is now introducing Aleppo, Amman, Yerevan and Tbilisi because it sees them as cities with growing markets and insufficient air connectivity. Such an explanation shows that DAN AIR is not presenting the expansion only as a seasonal increase in the number of destinations, but as an attempt to take space in peripheral and less covered markets.
What the announcement means for the Romanian market
For the Romanian air transport market, the announcement is important because it further strengthens Bucharest as a departure point for regional and interregional flights. Henri Coandă International Airport is the largest airport in Romania and the main hub for international traffic from the country. By introducing new routes, DAN AIR is trying to expand its offer beyond traditional Western European and domestic routes and to focus on markets where direct connections are rarer.
According to available data from announcements about the new routes, DAN AIR in its 2026 summer program from Bucharest is also counting on existing flights to Dublin and Damascus, together with Larnaca and Valencia announced from June 14. From July 1, Amman, Yerevan, Tbilisi and Aleppo should join that network. From Bacău, the company continues to develop a separate network, but the new announcement primarily refers to the Bucharest base and expansion toward the Middle East and the Caucasus.
DAN AIR presents itself as a private Romanian airline, and on its official pages it highlights affordable prices, flights to major airports and a fleet that includes Airbus A320 family aircraft. In practice, the success of the new routes will depend on several factors: schedule stability, fuel prices, traffic permits, security assessments, aircraft load factors and competition from other European hubs. The announcement therefore represents an important step in network expansion, but it does not remove the usual risks that accompany the opening of new international routes.
Additional routes still await approvals
In addition to the four confirmed destinations, the company has announced that it also wants to open routes to Baghdad, Baku, Beirut and Cairo. According to the Aviation Week article and Romanian media reports, DAN AIR has requested the necessary approvals for those destinations so that it can be designated as a scheduled carrier in accordance with bilateral agreements. This means that their possible launch cannot be viewed as a completed fact, but as part of the company's broader intention to expand its presence in regions it considers strategically important.
Such procedures in international air transport usually include several levels of approval, from national aviation authorities to arrangements arising from interstate air transport agreements. Although companies often communicate plans in advance in order to test the market and prepare sales, the final flight schedule depends on regulatory decisions, airport slots, operational capacities and security conditions. For that reason, in announcements for destinations such as Baghdad, Beirut or Cairo, it is necessary to follow further official announcements and the availability of flights in sales channels before speaking about the actual start of operations.
The announced routes to Amman, Yerevan, Tbilisi and Aleppo show that DAN AIR wants to use the space between large European network carriers and regional markets where there is diaspora, business or family demand. If the schedule from July 1, 2026 is implemented as announced, Bucharest will gain direct connections with four additional destinations outside the usual Western European directions. In this way, the company would further profile its network as a combination of European routes, links to Syria and new routes to the Middle East and the Caucasus.
Sources:
- DAN AIR – official carrier website and description of available services, fleet and destinations (link)
- Piața Financiară – data on new routes, flight schedule, company statement and results in 2025 (link)
- Aviation Week – confirmation of new routes, flight frequencies and requests for additional traffic rights (link)
- Enab Baladi – context of Syrian routes, Aleppo and the broader connection of Syria with international air traffic (link)
- Georgia Today – confirmation of the announcement of the Tbilisi route and parallel new routes from Bucharest (link)
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