Another route that makes absolutely no commercial sense.

State-owned CONVIASA announced via social media its intention to link directly the capitals of Venezuela and Syria with nonstop flights without providing any other details.

The airline used to fly to Damascus around 2012 as a intermediate stop on its Caracas-Tehran flight. Nowadays it links Tehran with Caracas nonstop twice a month. Moscow is also served nonstop from Caracas (*), and there are plans to include a stop at Havana on the way to Moscow, per an agreement with Rosaviatsiya.

(*) some flights make a mysterious stops at Belgrade en route to/fr Moscow.


https://twitter.com/LAConviasa/status/1 ... 8615705622

This would almost be entertaining if not for what it actually represents. If you remove politics it is a pretty absurd route for a million obvious reasons. While there certainly are many descendants of Syrians living in South America that generates virtually no traffic itself. Nor are there any genuine commercial links to speak of. Clear what this is all about of course.

Wonder what all the tourists do traveling between Damascus and Caracas? Or maybe it's the high revenue business folks? Or perhaps it's cargo heavy?

What a Dr Evil route.

ahh, the “friendship route” is restored. why offer nonstop flights from Maiquetía to MIA when you can do Damascus or Tehran?

In all seriousness what even is the Dr Evil logic of this? How does it advance the plot and how does it get paid for?

IrishAyes wrote:

ahh, the “friendship route” is restored. why offer nonstop flights from Maiquetía to MIA when you can do Damascus or Tehran?

Technically, they can't. They are sanctioned by the US. And that is just the beginning...

dcajet wrote:

IrishAyes wrote:

ahh, the “friendship route” is restored. why offer nonstop flights from Maiquetía to MIA when you can do Damascus or Tehran?

Technically, they can't. They are sanctioned by the US. And that is just the beginning...

In the words of Rainier Wolfcastle... that was the joke.

The flights are clearly carrying illegal stuff, weapons, dirty money stolen from the Venezuelan or Syrian people, drugs, or all the previous options... and maybe, just maybe, a couple of passengers. Considering the routing and the obvious purpose for the flight, it should be intercepted by the national air force of some of the countries where they need to use the airspace (they need to overfly african or european FIRs) , once on the ground the crew should be arrested under charges of smuggling and illegal activities, and the aircraft seized. It is the only way to send a clear message to all this rogue leaders, telling them that they are not in control, they are just pariahs outside of the world and aren't entitled to nothing but a dirty and dark jail.

IrishAyes wrote:

ahh, the “friendship route” is restored. why offer nonstop flights from Maiquetía to MIA when you can do Damascus or Tehran?

The shopping of course! All the duty free stuff you can pick up in Damascus and Teheran

Gonzalo wrote:

The flights are clearly carrying illegal stuff, weapons, dirty money stolen from the Venezuelan or Syrian people, drugs, or all the previous options... and maybe, just maybe, a couple of passengers. Considering the routing and the obvious purpose for the flight, it should be intercepted by the national air force of some of the countries where they need to use the airspace (they need to overfly african or european FIRs) , once on the ground the crew should be arrested under charges of smuggling and illegal activities, and the aircraft seized. It is the only way to send a clear message to all this rogue leaders, telling them that they are not in control, they are just pariahs outside of the world and aren't entitled to nothing but a dirty and dark jail.

Was it the Russians who forced a plane to land because it was carrying some opposition member? Who wants to bet they are carrying new chips for the Iranian drone industry.... ?

stewartg wrote:

Gonzalo wrote:

The flights are clearly carrying illegal stuff, weapons, dirty money stolen from the Venezuelan or Syrian people, drugs, or all the previous options... and maybe, just maybe, a couple of passengers. Considering the routing and the obvious purpose for the flight, it should be intercepted by the national air force of some of the countries where they need to use the airspace (they need to overfly african or european FIRs) , once on the ground the crew should be arrested under charges of smuggling and illegal activities, and the aircraft seized. It is the only way to send a clear message to all this rogue leaders, telling them that they are not in control, they are just pariahs outside of the world and aren't entitled to nothing but a dirty and dark jail.

Was it the Russians who forced a plane to land because it was carrying some opposition member? Who wants to bet they are carrying new chips for the Iranian drone industry.... ?

No that would have been Belarus.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/be ... 021-05-23/

Will they offer any connections. Connections from much of south America or Middle East might help the financial success.

stewartg wrote:

Gonzalo wrote:

The flights are clearly carrying illegal stuff, weapons, dirty money stolen from the Venezuelan or Syrian people, drugs, or all the previous options... and maybe, just maybe, a couple of passengers. Considering the routing and the obvious purpose for the flight, it should be intercepted by the national air force of some of the countries where they need to use the airspace (they need to overfly african or european FIRs) , once on the ground the crew should be arrested under charges of smuggling and illegal activities, and the aircraft seized. It is the only way to send a clear message to all this rogue leaders, telling them that they are not in control, they are just pariahs outside of the world and aren't entitled to nothing but a dirty and dark jail.

Was it the Russians who forced a plane to land because it was carrying some opposition member? Who wants to bet they are carrying new chips for the Iranian drone industry.... ?

While I'm light years away from the Argentinian government style and moral values, I admit that they kept some correct attitudes with the case of the "Venezuelan" B 747 with a lot of iranian "instructors". Last info I had was that at least the aircraft was still seized in Argentina after a request of US authorities or something like that, Don't remember what happened to the "instructors" either ...little off topic but if someone can update or elaborate, or share the link to the topic, will be nice.

I mean, it is obvious what these flights are.

I seriously doubt that someone in Venezuela (other than "El Presidente" and close friends) would wake up one day and say "Yup, Damascus, that's where I'm gonna spend my vacation at".

Yup, the flight is for political stuffs, Conviasa is just an arm for government. They have a poorly network in the South America and even some routes, like CAN, was cancelled and others are just in stand-by, like ALG and GRU.

dcajet wrote:

Another route that makes absolutely no commercial sense.

State-owned CONVIASA announced via social media its intention to link directly the capitals of Venezuela and Syria with nonstop flights without providing any other details.

The airline used to fly to Damascus around 2012 as a intermediate stop on its Caracas-Tehran flight. Nowadays it links Tehran with Caracas nonstop twice a month. Moscow is also served nonstop from Caracas (*), and there are plans to include a stop at Havana on the way to Moscow, per an agreement with Rosaviatsiya.

(*) some flights make a mysterious stops at Belgrade en route to/fr Moscow.

Having somewhat of a demand from Northern South America, CCS-BEY would at least have a hint of some commercial sense.

bfitzflyer wrote:

Will they offer any connections. Connections from much of south America or Middle East might help the financial success.

The quick answer is no. CONVIASA is not a serious enough operation to guarantee a certain amount of reliability needed for connecting passengers. Heck, I am not even sure of they can interline, price itineraries or sell tickets with other airlines to begin with. They are a hot mess.

dcajet wrote:

Moscow is also served nonstop from Caracas (*), and there are plans to include a stop at Havana on the way to Moscow, per an agreement with Rosaviatsiya.

(*) some flights make a mysterious stops at Belgrade en route to/fr Moscow.

Believe it or not, but Venezuela & Cuba are very popular holiday hotspots for Russian tourists, especially after the sanctions on Russia! Read: https://www.theguardian.com/world/galle ... n-pictures

BEG, nothing mysterious about that. BEG was also the (only) "European" refuelling point for IRAN AIR in the past, despite sanctions.

debonair wrote:

dcajet wrote:

Moscow is also served nonstop from Caracas (*), and there are plans to include a stop at Havana on the way to Moscow, per an agreement with Rosaviatsiya.

(*) some flights make a mysterious stops at Belgrade en route to/fr Moscow.

Believe it or not, but Venezuela & Cuba are very popular holiday hotspots for Russian tourists, especially after the sanctions on Russia! Read: https://www.theguardian.com/world/galle ... n-pictures

BEG, nothing mysterious about that. BEG was also the (only) "European" refuelling point for IRAN AIR in the past, despite sanctions.

No trouble believing it at all (*). But the tourists you allude to mostly arrive at Isla Margarita - Porlamar PMV on a weekly Nordwind flight from SVO. Conviasa operates to VKO once a week or every other one. The agreement with Rosavitsiya I mentioned upthread covers 5th freedom rights between Cuba and Venezuela. See: https://vk.com/wall-579636_89405?lang=en

(*) The Guardian article op.cit, talks about 3,000 tourists in 60 days. That is only 50/day. Hardly very popular for a market the size of Russia.

dcajet wrote:

debonair wrote:

dcajet wrote:

Moscow is also served nonstop from Caracas (*), and there are plans to include a stop at Havana on the way to Moscow, per an agreement with Rosaviatsiya.

(*) some flights make a mysterious stops at Belgrade en route to/fr Moscow.

Believe it or not, but Venezuela & Cuba are very popular holiday hotspots for Russian tourists, especially after the sanctions on Russia! Read: https://www.theguardian.com/world/galle ... n-pictures

BEG, nothing mysterious about that. BEG was also the (only) "European" refuelling point for IRAN AIR in the past, despite sanctions.

No trouble believing it at all (*). But the tourists you allude to mostly arrive at Isla Margarita - Porlamar PMV on a weekly Nordwind flight from SVO. Conviasa operates to VKO once a week or every other one. The agreement with Rosavitsiya I mentioned upthread covers 5th freedom rights between Cuba and Venezuela. See: https://vk.com/wall-579636_89405?lang=en

(*) The Guardian article op.cit, talks about 3,000 tourists in 60 days. That is only 50/day. Hardly very popular for a market the size of Russia.

My irony was directed at spending Summers with the family in Syria and Iran. But the opposite makes sense. I believe it's mostly government advisers flying in from the Middle East into Caracas. Their families will of course soak the sun in Porlamar. If a political statement is to be made, its imply to flaunt US sanctions.

Schedule for the Caracas - Damascus route has been loaded. Begins 23MAY, biweekly operation.

https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/230325-v0dam

Have to imagine Minsk is on deck for Conviasa

N292UX wrote:

Have to imagine Minsk is on deck for Conviasa

Jokes and politics aside, would that be there first nonstop to Belarus, and Syria for that matter, from the Americas?

TWA772LR wrote:

N292UX wrote:

Have to imagine Minsk is on deck for Conviasa

Jokes and politics aside, would that be there first nonstop to Belarus, and Syria for that matter, from the Americas?

Both IranAir and Conviasa flew between Caracas and Damascus as an intermediate stop on the way to Tehran around 10-15 years ago. I am wondering if Syrianair ever flew to NYC back in the late 70s and the 80s when it had 2 747SP but I can't find any evidence of such flights.

Just wondering out loud here... say I had the money and adventurous spirit to take such a flight,
As an average regular american ...How would that go down, for instance...
- Would conviasa management be "curious", maybe watching me?
- Would the US authorities know of my flight and maybe want to ask a few questions as to why I took the flight?

Im sure there's a ton of obstacles probably for someone wanting to fly out of Venezuela and into Syria in today's world, but it just got me thinking... we're isn't just part of a crowd flying between cities in generic boring routes and unless you have a reason to be known to authorities, no-one looks twice at you... but on this route, I would think every passenger is "looked at" closely..
-

TWA772LR wrote:

N292UX wrote:

Have to imagine Minsk is on deck for Conviasa

Jokes and politics aside, would that be there first nonstop to Belarus, and Syria for that matter, from the Americas?

I believe it would be for both. Unless Aeroflot flew MSQ-JFK or something way back in the day, which I don't think they did.

Pan Am flew to Damascus back in their peak but it was not a direct from the US. Pretty sure it originated in London or Germany.

dcajet wrote:

TWA772LR wrote:

N292UX wrote:

Have to imagine Minsk is on deck for Conviasa

Jokes and politics aside, would that be there first nonstop to Belarus, and Syria for that matter, from the Americas?

Both IranAir and Conviasa flew between Caracas and Damascus as an intermediate stop on the way to Tehran around 10-15 years ago. I am wondering if Syrianair ever flew to NYC back in the late 70s and the 80s when it had 2 747SP but I can't find any evidence of such flights.

According to ABC wORLD airways Guide May 1977 they operated on monday s sub reconfirmation flight RB 701 DAM/JFK 1200 - 1800

bhxdtw wrote:

Just wondering out loud here... say I had the money and adventurous spirit to take such a flight,
As an average regular american ...How would that go down, for instance...
- Would conviasa management be "curious", maybe watching me?
- Would the US authorities know of my flight and maybe want to ask a few questions as to why I took the flight?

Im sure there's a ton of obstacles probably for someone wanting to fly out of Venezuela and into Syria in today's world, but it just got me thinking... we're isn't just part of a crowd flying between cities in generic boring routes and unless you have a reason to be known to authorities, no-one looks twice at you... but on this route, I would think every passenger is "looked at" closely..
-

Your biggest obstacle would be getting both Syrian and Venezuelan visas as a U.S. passport holder. Neither country has consular representation in the U.S. so you'd have to go to Mexico City to get a Venezuelan visa and to Montreal to get a Syrian visa. Both have hefty entry requirements for Americans — you'll have a lot of criteria to meet to get your paperwork in order to present an application to the visa authorities to even start the process.

adamblang wrote:

bhxdtw wrote:

Just wondering out loud here... say I had the money and adventurous spirit to take such a flight,
As an average regular american ...How would that go down, for instance...
- Would conviasa management be "curious", maybe watching me?
- Would the US authorities know of my flight and maybe want to ask a few questions as to why I took the flight?

Im sure there's a ton of obstacles probably for someone wanting to fly out of Venezuela and into Syria in today's world, but it just got me thinking... we're isn't just part of a crowd flying between cities in generic boring routes and unless you have a reason to be known to authorities, no-one looks twice at you... but on this route, I would think every passenger is "looked at" closely..
-

Your biggest obstacle would be getting both Syrian and Venezuelan visas as a U.S. passport holder. Neither country has consular representation in the U.S. so you'd have to go to Mexico City to get a Venezuelan visa and to Montreal to get a Syrian visa. Both have hefty entry requirements for Americans — you'll have a lot of criteria to meet to get your paperwork in order to present an application to the visa authorities to even start the process.

Syria just reopened to tourism this month. It’s much easier to go with a tour group now.

Regarding Venezuela it’s quite hard but due keep in mind many other Western nationalities can go visa free unlike Syria.

kimbra wrote:

dcajet wrote:

TWA772LR wrote:

Jokes and politics aside, would that be there first nonstop to Belarus, and Syria for that matter, from the Americas?

Both IranAir and Conviasa flew between Caracas and Damascus as an intermediate stop on the way to Tehran around 10-15 years ago. I am wondering if Syrianair ever flew to NYC back in the late 70s and the 80s when it had 2 747SP but I can't find any evidence of such flights.

According to ABC wORLD airways Guide May 1977 they operated on monday s sub reconfirmation flight RB 701 DAM/JFK 1200 - 1800

Thank you!

I just did some searching on the web and came across this:

Two 747SP were ordered in 1976 with the intention of operating transatlantic services to New York. SyrianAir and the Royal Jordanian Airlines were to join forces in launching the first transatlantic route ever operated by an Arab Middle Eastern airline. The joint flight agreement never really materialized, and Alia launched independently its own Amman-New York flights in 1977. SyrianAir started its Boeing 747SP operations on June 1, 1976, using the jumbo jet on the Damascus-Munich-London sector.[4]

Taken from the WIkipedia page on Syrianair, which in turns uses the Syrianair history website as a source: https://syriaair.com/history-en/

adamblang wrote:

bhxdtw wrote:

Just wondering out loud here... say I had the money and adventurous spirit to take such a flight,
As an average regular american ...How would that go down, for instance...
- Would conviasa management be "curious", maybe watching me?
- Would the US authorities know of my flight and maybe want to ask a few questions as to why I took the flight?

Im sure there's a ton of obstacles probably for someone wanting to fly out of Venezuela and into Syria in today's world, but it just got me thinking... we're isn't just part of a crowd flying between cities in generic boring routes and unless you have a reason to be known to authorities, no-one looks twice at you... but on this route, I would think every passenger is "looked at" closely..
-

Your biggest obstacle would be getting both Syrian and Venezuelan visas as a U.S. passport holder. Neither country has consular representation in the U.S. so you'd have to go to Mexico City to get a Venezuelan visa and to Montreal to get a Syrian visa. Both have hefty entry requirements for Americans — you'll have a lot of criteria to meet to get your paperwork in order to present an application to the visa authorities to even start the process.

It is funny how this countries with +90 % of poverty put severe restrictions to enter, like if it was a real crowd of first world countries' nationals begging to cross their borders. It reminds me the amusing arguments with some communist in my college times, when no one of them was ever capable to explain why hundreds of persons put their lives at risk trying to flee from the "wonderful" society at one side of the Berlin's wall, while not a single one in history did the slightest effort to jump in the opposite direction....

bennett123 wrote:

bhxdtw wrote:

Just wondering out loud here... say I had the money and adventurous spirit to take such a flight,
As an average regular american ...How would that go down, for instance...
- Would conviasa management be "curious", maybe watching me?
- Would the US authorities know of my flight and maybe want to ask a few questions as to why I took the flight?

Im sure there's a ton of obstacles probably for someone wanting to fly out of Venezuela and into Syria in today's world, but it just got me thinking... we're isn't just part of a crowd flying between cities in generic boring routes and unless you have a reason to be known to authorities, no-one looks twice at you... but on this route, I would think every passenger is "looked at" closely..
-

Not sure what the reaction of the US authorities would be.

I understand there are sanctions on trade with Iran, not sure about trade with Venezuela. If there are then your bank may need to tell the US authorities.

American citizens can and do visit Iran—it’s a place I would love to visit, though I have no realistic expectations of doing so. The issue is 1) it pretty much has to be cash unless it’s a card issued by a bank that can do business in Iran, and 2) if you get into trouble, you’re really in trouble.

Same with Syria and Venezuela. I’m not aware of travel restrictions on those countries. Cuba was one of the few, if only, places, where such restrictions were imposed by the US government.

bennett123 wrote:

luckyone wrote:

bennett123 wrote:

Not sure what the reaction of the US authorities would be.

I understand there are sanctions on trade with Iran, not sure about trade with Venezuela. If there are then your bank may need to tell the US authorities.

American citizens can and do visit Iran—it’s a place I would love to visit, though I have no realistic expectations of doing so. The issue is 1) it pretty much has to be cash unless it’s a card issued by a bank that can do business in Iran, and 2) if you get into trouble, you’re really in trouble.

Same with Syria and Venezuela. I’m not aware of travel restrictions on those countries. Cuba was one of the few, if only, places, where such restrictions were imposed by the US government.

Would paying for your ticket and anything else you pay for in Venezuela or Syria be affected by financial sanctions?.

If one paid in cash, no. Credit card payments could be an issue, definitely in Syria, the rules are a bit murkier for Venezuela

kimbra wrote:

dcajet wrote:

TWA772LR wrote:

Jokes and politics aside, would that be there first nonstop to Belarus, and Syria for that matter, from the Americas?

Both IranAir and Conviasa flew between Caracas and Damascus as an intermediate stop on the way to Tehran around 10-15 years ago. I am wondering if Syrianair ever flew to NYC back in the late 70s and the 80s when it had 2 747SP but I can't find any evidence of such flights.

According to ABC wORLD airways Guide May 1977 they operated on monday s sub reconfirmation flight RB 701 DAM/JFK 1200 - 1800

The schedule was published, but I don't think this route ever operated. The SP's never ventured beyond LHR or BOM/DEL.

I just feel like I would stick out like a sore thumb if I were to ever be on a flight from CCS to DAM... lol
Maybe I'm overthinking it to much and there would be others with legitimate interests being on the flight like VFR traffic or business folk

bhxdtw wrote:

I just feel like I would stick out like a sore thumb if I were to ever be on a flight from CCS to DAM... lol
Maybe I'm overthinking it to much and there would be others with legitimate interests being on the flight like VFR traffic or business folk

No, your first assumption is correct. The kindest way to describe the raison d'être för this flight is that it's government traffic - in this case meaning shady types in the military/security industries. Possibly mixed up with the occasional arms and drug dealer. Unfortunately, but it's the fact. There's zero other business between Venezuela and Syria. The only Syrian civilian product you can find in Venezuela is the occasional bottle of olive oil, but I doubt that it's flown in

Gonzalo wrote:

It is funny how this countries with +90 % of poverty put severe restrictions to enter, like if it was a real crowd of first world countries' nationals begging to cross their borders. It reminds me the amusing arguments with some communist in my college times, when no one of them was ever capable to explain why hundreds of persons put their lives at risk trying to flee from the "wonderful" society at one side of the Berlin's wall, while not a single one in history did the slightest effort to jump in the opposite direction....

Those countries tend to be very authoritarian so travel restrictions for foreigners probably have a lot to do with restricting influence from abroad, plus making it difficult for your locals to flee the regime. Not to mention developed or more stable nations probably don't desire waves of immigrants coming to their countries, so one restriction may be a response to another.

bhxdtw wrote:

I just feel like I would stick out like a sore thumb if I were to ever be on a flight from CCS to DAM... lol
Maybe I'm overthinking it to much and there would be others with legitimate interests being on the flight like VFR traffic or business folk

I dare you take the trip. Dress in tan khakis and black polo and wear a CIA cap. ( I can get one for you here in downtown DC) You will make many passengers nervous.... Oh, and an olive green duffel bag.

stewartg wrote:

bhxdtw wrote:

I just feel like I would stick out like a sore thumb if I were to ever be on a flight from CCS to DAM... lol
Maybe I'm overthinking it to much and there would be others with legitimate interests being on the flight like VFR traffic or business folk

I dare you take the trip. Dress in tan khakis and black polo and wear a CIA cap. ( I can get one for you here in downtown DC) You will make many passengers nervous.... Oh, and an olive green duffel bag.

Interestingly the route can be "easily" booked on their website... now, method of payment is a different matter lol

stewartg wrote:

bhxdtw wrote:

I just feel like I would stick out like a sore thumb if I were to ever be on a flight from CCS to DAM... lol
Maybe I'm overthinking it to much and there would be others with legitimate interests being on the flight like VFR traffic or business folk

I dare you take the trip. Dress in tan khakis and black polo and wear a CIA cap. ( I can get one for you here in downtown DC) You will make many passengers nervous.... Oh, and an olive green duffel bag.

No, he wouldn't make many passengers nervous... because there won't be many passengers onboard. As a side note, a friend of mine flew Caracas - Moscow on Conviasa a good year or so ago (before the war in Ukraine), and there were 18 passengers on board. That's to Moscow...now, imagine the number Damascus will get...

bennett123 wrote:

Personally, I would be more inclined to keep a low profile.

This outfit could attract people who have no sense of humour.

This is all off topic, but....you often see people in Venezuela wearing the US flag on t-shirts, even the whole t-shirt being in those colours, or with the logo of NASA, FBI and other kind of "novelty" branding clothes that are from "the empire". No eyebrows are raised at all.

bennett123 wrote:

Flogskipari wrote:

bennett123 wrote:

Personally, I would be more inclined to keep a low profile.

This outfit could attract people who have no sense of humour.

This is all off topic, but....you often see people in Venezuela wearing the US flag on t-shirts, even the whole t-shirt being in those colours, or with the logo of NASA, FBI and other kind of "novelty" branding clothes that are from "the empire". No eyebrows are raised at all.

Are Conviasa flights to Damascus going to attract a cross section of the Venezuelan population?.

No, they will attract nobody.

But if you are alluding to that they will attract people with money, or people paying lip service to the government (these are often one and the same people, so called boliburgueses, short for Bolivarian bourgeoisie), then you will be surprised to learn that these are the very people walking around with the type of clothing described earlier.

These flights are mainly political ("look, we have lots of friends around the world, in Havana, Managua, Tehran, Moscow, Minsk, Damascus, Beijing, Pyongyang..."), but will also carry the occasional delegates of "cultural", political and military interchanges between the countries, people who can't connect in places like Madrid. Contrary to popular belief, there is no abundance of Syrian or Iranian staff in Venezuela; the bought-in and brought-in security forces, and military and political advisors, are almost all Cuban.

Oh, and then there's the cargo...

so would hypothetically speaking, flying this flight as a Puerto Rico born, US national, just to fly an A340-600 and Conviasa, would get me into trouble in Syria or in the US? I found this on wiki's page for the airline, "On February 7, 2020 the United States Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") added Conviasa and its fleet of 40 aircraft to the Specially Designated Nationals list. In practice this makes it extremely unlikely that Conviasa will be able to source replacement parts for its fleet of airworthy and grounded B737 aircraft. Additionally, US Nationals are prohibited from flying on Conviasa's domestic and international flights."

Is the US prohibition against using Conviasa any more serious than using Cubana 30 years ago ? Plenty of people from the USA without relatives or special permission went to Cuba as tourists in the 1990s - I saw them all over the island.

As long as payment for the Conviasa ticket is made in cash, you don't use a credit card in Syria, your passport contains no explicit evidence of travel to Syria and you don't attract US Govt attention.... then who is going to know ?
If you need to cover up the Syria passport stamp... you might want to get a 2nd US passport - just explain you need to travel to both Israel and Iraq as incompatible countries

Flogskipari wrote:

stewartg wrote:

bhxdtw wrote:

I just feel like I would stick out like a sore thumb if I were to ever be on a flight from CCS to DAM... lol
Maybe I'm overthinking it to much and there would be others with legitimate interests being on the flight like VFR traffic or business folk

I dare you take the trip. Dress in tan khakis and black polo and wear a CIA cap. ( I can get one for you here in downtown DC) You will make many passengers nervous.... Oh, and an olive green duffel bag.

No, he wouldn't make many passengers nervous... because there won't be many passengers onboard. As a side note, a friend of mine flew Caracas - Moscow on Conviasa a good year or so ago (before the war in Ukraine), and there were 18 passengers on board. That's to Moscow...now, imagine the number Damascus will get...

I wonder how many of those 18 could have been Russian intelligence operatives (aka "illegals" - spies without diplomatic cover) looking for a discreet way to shuttle back and forth between Moscow and the Americas? There are plenty of those living under assumed local identities. This year alone, 3 were busted, 1 in the Netherlands who was using a carefully cultivated identity of a Brazilian graduate student and a couple who supposedly were an Argentinian couple living in Slovenia, the wife an art gallery owner and the husband, an IT start up owner, complete with 2 kids.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/ ... l-slovenia

"The Americans" vibes? Totally.