Ryanair opens 14 new air travel routes to Jordan

AMMAN — The Ministry of Tourism and the Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) on Sunday announced the launch of 14 new airline routes to Jordan operated by the European low-cost carrier Ryanair, scheduled to start from summer 2018.

The first route will operate from Paphos (Cyprus) to Amman starting in March, followed by 9 new routes to Queen Alia Airport and four other to Aqaba’s King Hussein International Airport starting in the winter of 2018, according to a press release by the ministry. 

The new routes are expected to bring up to 500,000 customers per year and 340 new on-site jobs, according to Ryanair’s Chief Commercial Officer David O’Brien.

At a press conference, Tourism Minister Lina Annab said that “this significant development in Jordan’s tourism industry will offer travellers a greater choice and value for money”, adding that “enhancing air connectivity is one of the key areas Jordan is focusing on, given its impact on unlocking economic growth through attracting business investment as well as spurring tourism”.

Asked about the benefits the Kingdom will receive from the new services, the minister explained that the country “will benefit not only from the cheap flights, but from the development and growth that this step will foster in the tourism sector”, citing the contributions that such growth will bring to the national economy and GDP. 

For his part, O’Brien stressed that Ryanair “is pleased to announce its entry in the Jordanian market”, noting that “the new routes will introduce new business and leisure travellers from 11 European countries to one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the world [Petra].”

JTB Managing Director Abed Al Razzaq Arabiyat said that “opening up new routes to the Kingdom from several crucial markets is key to efforts aimed at bringing tourists for extended stays in Jordan.”

“This is a culmination of efforts that reflects out a steadfast demand-driven approach,” he continued, adding: “We are now able to make the Kingdom more accessible to a broader segment of potential tourists whose impact on the local community will be substantial on every level of the tourism sector supply-chain.”

The launching of the new routes will be accompanied by several marketing campaigns based in the new source markets in Europe according to Annab, who noted that the new strategies would target specific types of tourists such as religious, adventure and business travellers.