Turkish Airlines flights to Aqaba resume

AMMAN — The Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) on Monday announced the resumption of Turkish Airlines' flights to Aqaba with three flights weekly.

"The first flight arrived on Monday and, with the resumption of flights, we expect the number of tourist to Aqaba to rise sharply," ASEZA Chief Commissioner Nasser Shraideh told The Jordan Times over the phone.

The resumption of Turkish Airlines' flights to Aqaba, along with several other initiatives, will help in the implementation of ASEZA's strategy to increase the number of tourists to Aqaba, which currently stands at 600,000 per year, to 1 million yearly by 2020 and 1.5 million by 2025, he said.

The flights between Aqaba and Istanbul will help in boosting tourism to Jordan's "Golden Triangle” [Aqaba, Petra and Wadi Rum], he noted.

"This would not have been achieved without His Majesty King Abdullah's efforts with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan," the chief commissioner stressed, adding: "We believe this will bring real opportunities and open doors for tourism and trade."

He also announced ASEZA's intention to create Fly Aqaba Airline to serve Aqaba in partnership with RJ, scheduled to be operational later this year with its base in Aqaba.

Shraideh added that a large Turkish business delegation was among the passengers arriving on the flights, noting that a meeting was held with the delegation during which ASEZA presented the investment opportunities available in the port city and the legislative framework in the zone.

Discussions also focused on means to boost trade and tourism ties.

Turkish Airlines suspended its flights to Aqaba in late 2016 after the government decided to impose new fees.

The government has also recently signed a deal with the EU budget airline Ryanair that will start operating flights to Jordan.

Four flights will be operated by Ryanair to Aqaba’s King Hussein International Airport starting in the winter of 2018 as stipulated by the deal.