Tripoli becomes fifth destination suspended by RJ for security reasons

AMMAN — Royal Jordanian (RJ) has suspended its operations between Amman and the Libyan capital Tripoli since Sunday, the airline said on Monday

The decision was taken after the Libyan civil aviation authority said Tripoli’s international airport will be closed due to fierce clashes between militias aiming to control it, RJ said in a statement.

Halting service to Tripoli raises the number of the destinations that RJ has suspended due to security reasons to five: Benghazi, Mosul, Damascus and Aleppo, in addition to Tripoli.

RJ’s flights to Syria have been suspended since 2012, while flights to Mosul in Iraq have been suspended since last June. 

Flights to Benghazi in Libya have been suspended since mid-April, according to the statement.

RJ said it has “suffered big losses as a result of closing these stations”. 

In 2012 and 2013, RJ incurred losses of JD19.4 million because of suspending service to Damascus and Aleppo and also changing the route of its operations between Amman and Beirut. 

The airline said it also expects to witness losses in the first half of 2014 because of the destination closures.

RJ normally operates 10 weekly flights to Tripoli, four to Benghazi and two to Mosul.

It also used to serve Damascus 10 times weekly and Aleppo seven times a week. The two Syrian stations used to feed RJ flights operating from/to the US and European destinations, according to the statement.