‘Fully booked’ flights to Jordan have tourism sector feeling optimistic

AMMAN — A total of 32 budget flights, each carrying 180 passengers, have arrived from several European countries to Jordan each week since Ryanair and EasyJet began flights on November 1, the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) said on Monday.

“All flights operated by Ryanair and EasyJet that arrive in Aqaba and Amman are fully booked and in light of these developments, the number of tourists will largely increase this year,” Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat, managing director of JTB, told The Jordan Times.

European low-cost carrier Ryanair started several flights from Italy, Poland, Cyprus, Lithuania, Belgium, Romania, Hungary and the Czech Republic to Amman. It also began operating eight flights per week from Greece, Italy, Bulgaria and Germany to Aqaba. 

EasyJet established two flights per week from London and Berlin to Aqaba, and Norwegian Airlines started two flights to Amman per week and one flight to Aqaba from Copenhagen per week as of November 1. The price of a round trip ticket via these flights to Jordan does not exceed JD100.

“We are witnessing an increase in bookings at hotels and visits to tourism attractions as a result of these budget flights,” Arabiyat added.

The number of tourists visiting Jordan’s “golden triangle of tourism” (Aqaba, Petra and Wadi Rum) as well as other sites will increase during the upcoming period, he expected.

“Each week, we receive 32 budget flights via these airlines and this is a very positive indicator, and we are also going ahead with activities and campaigns to promote our tourism in various markets,” he said.