Aleppo has been in the news, and you want facts before you book. This page answers what a visitor asks first: which airlines fly in and since when, how the visa on arrival works, why you bring cash, what the UK, US and German governments advise, with their pages linked, and what operates on the ground with its date. Sima arranges the airport pickup, the hotel and an English-speaking coordinator on WhatsApp, billed separately at cost, and the specialists are Your Hair Center's own Istanbul team. Nothing here reassures you. It describes the trip and leaves the decision with you.
Where Turkish Precision Meets Syrian Hospitality
Sima's guide to travelling to Aleppo for a hair transplant, from the Aleppo clinic of Your Hair Center, Istanbul
A direct flight from Istanbul, Sharjah or Kuwait, a visa on arrival for most passports, four or five nights in a hotel we book for you, and the same specialists who operate in our Istanbul centre. Most Western governments advise against travel to Syria; their advice is linked on this page, in full
- Direct flights
- Visa on arrival
- English-speaking coordinator
- Written plan before you travel
- Your Hair Center's Istanbul team
Travelling to Aleppo by air, and by road from Türkiye
Aleppo International Airport is open with scheduled service. Timetables still change at short notice, so confirm the day's flight with the airline before you pay for a seat
Turkish Airlines
Scheduled service from Istanbul Airport to Aleppo, the usual route when travelling to Aleppo through Istanbul
Pegasus
From Sabiha Gökçen, Istanbul’s second airport, flying to Aleppo since June 2026
Air Arabia
Direct from Sharjah to Aleppo since 4 July 2026, the Gulf’s door to the city
Jazeera Airways
Scheduled service from Kuwait to Aleppo
Overland from Türkiye
Possible, with the same visa on arrival at the land border. Tell us your crossing and your time, and Sima coordinates the pickup
Timetables change at short notice
Most passports, a fee in cash, and no e-visa to apply for
Who
Most passports, including EU and US passports, receive a visa on arrival at every airport and land border
Visa on arrivalThe fee
Paid in cash, in US dollars or euros, at the border itself. The rule has been in force since July 2025
Cash onlyYour passport
Valid for at least three months. Any Israeli stamp, or Israeli nationality, is refused
Three monthsOnline
The state e-visa portal was inactive as of March 2026, so there is nothing to apply for before you fly
No e-visaBefore you book
Rules change. Check the current position with the Syrian embassy in your country. Sima does not give consular advice, but it does move your dates if your paperwork needs time
Check firstIs it safe to travel to Syria? What your government says
We would rather you read this here than discover it later. The United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office advises against all travel to Syria and can offer no consular support inside the country. The United States holds Syria at Level 4, Do Not Travel, unchanged at its update of 27 March 2026. Germany’s Federal Foreign Office keeps a Reisewarnung, a formal travel warning, in force, and its page records bombings in Damascus between May and July 2026. Where your government advises against all travel, a standard travel insurance policy is usually void, so you will need specialist cover, and you should read its medical and evacuation clauses before you pay. Then read what operates on the ground, with its date beside it.
- Scheduled flights into Aleppo International Airport from Istanbul, Sharjah and Kuwait
- A tourism police force on the streets since May 2026, when its first cohort of 518 officers graduated
- Guided visits to Aleppo resumed in January 2026
- The citadel and large parts of the covered souq have reopened, and hotels operate
- 3.52 million visitors to Syria in the first half of 2026, 719,000 of them non-Arab tourists
We keep these links current and we do not paraphrase them in our favour. What operates on the ground is listed with its date, and a reader better served in Istanbul is welcome at our centre there.
Sima describes, it does not reassure
Bring cash, and treat a card as a back-up
Syria is reconnecting to the card networks, and a visitor travelling to Aleppo in 2026 still pays in cash. The table shows where things stood in September 2026, and what each line means for your wallet.
| Means of payment | Where it stands | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Cash, US dollars or euros | The working money for a visitor, and the visa fee itself is cash only | Bring what you need for the whole stay, including the visa fee |
| Visa and Mastercard | First live transactions in Syria in late August 2026, with coverage still partial | Useful where it works, not something to plan the trip around |
| Sanctions | The Caesar Act was repealed on 18 December 2025, and the EU lifted its Syria sanctions in May 2025 | The reason the card networks are arriving, and not yet a reason to leave the cash at home |
You are met at the airport, and you are not on your own after that
Nothing here is a package, and nothing is bundled into the procedure price. Before you book a seat you hold a written plan, with the expected graft count, the technique, the price and the dates that fit your flights, so that travelling to Aleppo is built around a decision you have already made. Your figure is confirmed in writing after the consultation, by graft count and donor area. Once the flight number is in, the coordinator books the pickup and the hotel, and the same person answers your messages from that day to the last follow-up in month twelve.
- Airport pickup at Aleppo airport, or at the border crossing if you come by road
- Hotel booking, in a hotel we know, for the nights the plan sets
- An English-speaking coordinator on WhatsApp from your first message, and beside you at the clinic
- Each of the three invoiced to you separately, with nothing added
Travel, hotel and airport pickup are arranged by Sima and billed separately at cost.
Four or five nights in Aleppo, day by day
The written plan sets the dates around your flights. With four nights, the pre-operative check happens on the afternoon you land; with five, it has a day of its own. The days below are the five-night version for a visitor travelling to Aleppo, and the tenth day happens wherever you are.
Arrival and pickup
Your coordinator meets you at Aleppo airport, or at the border if you came by road, and drives you to the hotel. Nothing clinical today.
Pre-operative check
The specialist examines the donor area, confirms the graft count and the hairline agreed in the written plan, and answers what the photos could not.
Procedure day
One session, one day, under local anaesthetic, with the same specialists who operate in our Istanbul centre. Back at your hotel by evening with the aftercare kit and the night’s instructions.
First wash, at the clinic
The team does the first wash and shows you how the second will go. A quiet day after it.
Rest day, the citadel and the souq
A loose hat, a slow walk through the old city, the citadel and the covered souq, and an early night.
Fly home
Your coordinator takes you to the airport. Daily WhatsApp check-ins continue from wherever you land.
Second wash, over WhatsApp
On day ten the team guides the second wash on a video call. From there the monthly photo follow-up runs until the twelfth month, included in the original price.
A citadel older than most countries, and a souq trading again
Aleppo is not a resort, and this page does not pretend it is. It is a city five thousand years old, with a citadel on a hill at its centre, a covered souq around it, and a kitchen the region still talks about. Guided visits resumed in January 2026, the citadel and much of the souq have reopened, and a rest day here is a slow walk rather than a checklist. Coffee comes from the rakwa, small and strong. The bread is kaak, ringed with sesame, and the olives are Aleppo’s own. You will be tired, and the city suits a tired visitor. It asks for an afternoon, not an itinerary.
- The citadel, reopened to visitors and best seen in the late afternoon light
- The covered souq, large parts of it trading again
- The old city's limestone lanes, and a kitchen with a reputation across the region
If you are Syrian and coming home, time the procedure with the visit; the team stays with you over WhatsApp after you fly back.
Questions visitors ask before they fly
Will my travel insurance cover me in Syria?
Usually not under a standard policy. Where your government advises against all travel, most ordinary policies stop covering you, and the UK Foreign Office says so on its own page. You will need specialist cover written for countries under an advisory, and you should read the medical and evacuation clauses before you pay. Sima is a clinic, not an insurer, and does not sell or recommend cover.
Can I come by road from Türkiye?
Yes. The land border issues the same visa on arrival as the airport, paid in cash in US dollars or euros, and that has been the rule since July 2025. Tell your coordinator which crossing you are using and when, and Sima coordinates the pickup and the drive to your hotel. It is billed separately at cost, like the airport pickup.
What should I pack when travelling to Aleppo?
Nothing medical. Everything you need after the procedure, from the spray to the pillow to the washing instructions, is handed to you at Sima. Anyone travelling to Aleppo for a procedure packs loose clothes with a front opening so nothing is pulled over the head, a wide, loose hat for the journey home, a medical report for any chronic condition or known allergy, a passport valid for at least three months, and cash in US dollars or euros for the whole stay.
Can a companion come with me?
Yes, and one companion is welcome on procedure day in the side lounge kept for them, with coffee and wifi for the length of the session. We ask for one rather than several to keep the treatment room calm. Your companion enters Syria on the same visa on arrival as you, and Sima books their hotel nights alongside yours.
What happens if my flight is cancelled or moved?
Timetables into Aleppo still change at short notice, so the plan is written around your arrival rather than around a fixed calendar slot. If your outbound flight moves, message your coordinator and the dates move with it. If your return is delayed, the extra hotel nights are booked at cost, and the wash schedule simply continues at the clinic instead of over WhatsApp.
Is Aleppo hot or cold when I visit?
Summers are hot and dry, winters are cold, and spring and autumn are mild. For the procedure itself the season changes little. You wear the loose hat outdoors for the first days in any month, and the rest day at the citadel is a morning walk in summer and an afternoon one in winter.
Do I need to speak Arabic?
No. An English-speaking coordinator answers your WhatsApp from the first message, sits with you at the consultation and on procedure day, and stays on the thread through the twelfth month. The written plan and the aftercare instructions come to you in English.
Book the consultation before you book the flight
Send your photos over WhatsApp from wherever you are. A doctor replies with a written assessment, an expected graft count and the dates that fit your flights, and only then do you look at seats. The consultation is free and commits you to nothing
- Free consultation
- Reply within an hour
- No obligation
- English-speaking
