The Syrian civil aviation authority announced plans to reclassify the Mezzeh military airport in Damascus for limited civilian use, specifically for private and executive aviation. According to the state news agency SANA, infrastructure upgrades and rubble removal have already begun at the site. The project is intended to complement Damascus International Airport as the country seeks to attract new investment.
The airport served as a site for the Air Force Intelligence Directorate and detention facilities under the administrations of Hafez al-Assad and Bashar al-Assad. Documents obtained by the Syria Justice and Accountability Centre (SJAC) indicate that in 2012, military officials designated the airport as a location for executing detainees. A 2025 investigation by the SJAC estimated that more than 1,150 people died at the facility due to executions, torture, or maltreatment.
Human rights groups and local residents have raised concerns that the redevelopment could disturb human remains and evidence of past activity. SJAC reported that it identified two suspected mass grave sites within the airport grounds and provided their coordinates to Syria’s National Commission for Missing Persons in July 2025. On September 8, 2026, the group sent a second letter warning that construction could damage these sites; the group stated it has not yet received a response.
The project also impacts hundreds of private landowners in the Moadamiya municipality. Land records shared with Reuters show the airport occupies 2.76 square kilometers (approximately 1.1 square miles) of land that residents say was expropriated starting in 1956 without compensation. These owners will notice a lack of return on their property claims if the state proceeds with private investment deals that do not include them. A protest by local residents occurred the day after the plans were announced, with organizers demanding a share in the investment rather than state-led redevelopment.
The outcome of this project may set a precedent for how the current government handles thousands of other properties seized under previous land laws. On September 2, 2026, United Nations experts called for the repeal of laws that facilitated these seizures, suggesting that future stability depends on establishing a mechanism for property restitution or compensation. While the Syrian civil aviation authority stated that the refurbishment would consider "legal and social issues," it has not specified how it will resolve the competing land claims or the investigation of the suspected grave sites. Construction is currently underway, though a final completion date for the civilian hub has not been reported.