The International Air Cargo Association or TIACA is calling on the insurance markets to relax some of the stringent procedures and financial penalties in place when flying to Syria as a sanctioned state considered as a war zone. The move comes following the tragic earthquake events in southern Türkiye and northern Syria, where the air cargo industry has coordinated immediate response to form humanitarian airbridges and transport relief aid to affected areas.

“We urge the insurance markets to follow the lead of the US Treasury department and remove the current penalty for a limited time period to support relief efforts,” TIACA stated.

The trade group explained that flights need to get as close as possible to where the aid is needed: “Flying to Damascus or Aleppo is vital to support Syrian relief efforts but with current Hull war risk premiums in place the financial impact is often too much for humanitarian agencies to bear.”

“TIACA acknowledges the great supporting efforts of the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) which issued Syria General License (GL) 23, which authorizes for 180 days all transactions related to earthquake relief that would be otherwise prohibited by the Syrian Sanctions Regulations (SySR),” the group expressed in a statement.

“The blanket General License authorizes earthquake relief efforts so that those providing assistance can focus on what’s needed most: saving lives and rebuilding. This will facilitate aid to flow much quicker to the affected area.”