Freight traffic, shipments in Aqaba proceeding normally —governor

AMMAN — Overland shipping to and from Aqaba is proceeding as usual via the Wadi Araba and the Desert Highway after an emergency plan was implemented, Aqaba Governor Khaled Hajjaj said on Tuesday.

Hajjaj told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, that an operations room has been opened to maintain the supply chain for foodstuff, medicines and basic commodities from Aqaba’s ports to all destinations in the Kingdom.

The governor noted that additional yards were provided to store goods in ports and customs centres, and additional lanes were opened for customs clearance to facilitate the process as quickly as possible.

Director General of the Aqaba Company for Ports Operation and Management (ACPOM) Abdelmajid Qaralleh said that navigation at the port is operating normally in terms of receiving ships, completing customs transactions and facilitating the movement of goods to various governorates of the Kingdom.

Qaralleh added that over the past 24 hours, some 900 trucks, were loaded with various types of goods, especially basic food items and fodder. 

The port of Aqaba is expected to receive several commercial vessels coming from several countries, including shipments of wheat, sugar, coal, stone and fodder in the next few days, he added.

Director of Public Relations at Aqaba Airports Company Omar Smadi said that King Hussein International Airport in Aqaba is also operational and is receiving low-cost flights from various European countries as scheduled.

Earlier in the day, the airport received its first low-cost flight from Warsaw, Poland, Smadi said. 

The company is currently in negotiations with a Swiss airline to operate low-cost flights between Switzerland and Aqaba, according to Petra.