The pleasant 1970s-style airport of Damascus is 25km southeast of the city centre and is reached along a wide highway in about 30 minutes. A new Qatari-funded terminal is currently under construction, intended to increase capacity by six million passengers per year, and another terminal designed by Zaha Hadid Architects plus a 5-star hotel are also planned. 

The current terminal is still quite pleasant to use, with a beautiful traditional-style Damascene cafe at its centre, complete with a bubbling fountain, money exchange, mobile phone offices, and taxi desks nearby. There's free wifi throughout the terminal. Count on going through half a dozen checks between the airport entrance and the plane door, with liquids sometimes confiscated at the gate. Once you pass customs, there's a waiting area on the upper floor with cafes, a canteen, various shops, and a content-looking resident cat. 

The official airport website www.damascus-airport.com has not been updated since 2019, though it's worth a browse for the news that Russian investors are poised to upgrade the terminal and for the reassuring list of fatal airline crashes. The commercial www.damascusairport.com website looks very nice indeed but is not the official version and may display incorrect information. You're best off checking the airline websites or apps for up-to-date information.

Arriving travellers can make use of the taxi stand in the main hall to book a ride into town at a fixed price of 250,000 SYP or go out to negotiate with waiting taxis; a fare of 150,000 SYP may be possible. Using the YallaGo and ElectroTaxi apps should result in a quick pick-up, as both companies have drivers waiting around; expect to pay around 200,000 SYP.

The airport bus service has not been reinstated yet, but if it does return, it should shuttle passengers to the Nahr Aishah bus station, just south of the National Museum.