Jordan Aviation 

Key airport information may also be found at: World Aero Data website information on Jordan

For information on Jordan airports contact details, please see the following link: 4.4 Jordan Airport Company Contact List

There are seven major airports in Jordan, three of them are civilian airports and the others are military airports:

Out of the 7 Airports, only 3 are civilians and the remaining airports are military zones (4). The Civil Aviation Regulatory commission (CARC) was established on 1st August 2007 to replace the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in accordance with article (68) of the civil aviation law number (41) of year 2007. According to this legislation the CARC has financial and administrative independence, and its key roles are:

• Regulating all affairs pertain to civil aviation including safety, security, economic and environment. 
• Carrying out all contractual obligations on behalf of the government with investors, operators in accordance with the civil aviation legislation. 
• Executing all the policy prepared by the Ministry of Transport and endorsed by the Council of ministers. 
• Representing the Kingdom in bilateral and international agreements, as well as, international bodies that pertain to civil aviation. Executing the government’s environment protection policy regarding noise and emissions, sky and land use in accordance with international laws, agreements, and protocols. 
• Executing the national program of aviation security prepared by the Ministry of Transport and endorsed by the Council of ministers.
• Developing the civil aviation technically and economically in accordance with safety and security standards and conduct research and studies in this regard. 
• Striving to improve the civil aviation services level and provide the qualified human resources and the required technical expertise. 
• Issuing the regulations and setting standards for air navigation in accordance with international laws and regulations. 
• Supervising and regulating the air transport sector in the Kingdom while protecting the consumer rights. Encourage private sector investment in the civil aviation sector in accordance with the market demand, by providing incentives and taking the necessary regulatory measures to protect their investments. 
• Supervising the performance of the operators and their activities and their adherence to laws, rules and regulations established in the civil aviation sector. 
• Encouraging positive competition among investors and preventing any monopoly of the market. 

Civil Airports in Jordan

Queen Alia airport - Amman  

The Jordanian government has signed a US$ 700 million agreement with the AIG (Airport International Group) to rehabilitate, operate and expand the existing Queen Alia International Airport, QAIA, in what is described as Jordan’s largest ever BOT agreement.

The AIG consortium consists of the Edgo Group, Joannou & Paraskevaides (Overseas) Limited, Noor Financial Investment Company, J&P-Avax, Abu Dhabi Investment Company, and Aeroports de Paris Management, who won the tender launched by the Government of Jordan in April 2007 and signed the Rehabilitation, Expansion and Operation Agreement on May 19, 2007. The new facility is covering an area of over 85000 sq meters. Under the 25 year old concession agreement, AIG will be responsible for all aspects of the operation of the airport, transforming it into a world class airport that adheres to international standards.

From his part, Chairman of AIG, Salem Al Ameri said “An early transitional period has been planned, starting with the implementation of visible improvements with quicker passenger flows, upgrades to the quality of the current facilities and the development of new services or enhancement of existing ones.”  The number of passengers travelling through Queen Alia International Airport increased by 9 per cent during 2014 compared to the same period in 2013, according Queen Alia International Airport website. 73,125 aircraft movements in 2014 with 7,089,008 passengers and more than 40 airlines (passenger, charter and cargo). The estimated investment of USD 750 million in the construction of the new terminal (2013). Currently expansion with estimated cost of USD 100 million. (http://www.amman-airport.com)

Marka Airport – Amman

The airport was founded in 1950 by the British as a joint military civilian airport. In 2009, Jordan Airports Company officially assumed managerial and operational responsibility for Amman Civil Airport. It mainly serves now as a regional airport servicing domestic and nearby international routes, as well as charter and private VIP flights. In coordination with international specialized consultants, the company has prepared a comprehensive master plan for Amman Civil Airport, which includes several capital projects. The company began the implementation of the first phase of the master plan to develop the facilities at the Airport; in 2012 the VIP Lounge was renovated and operated in a new spirit and a new level of services to position it as one of the most exceptional VIP Terminals in the region. In 2013 the new airport entrance project was delivered and in October 2013 the works started to rehabilitate the arrivals terminal and expand the duty-free shops at the airport, in addition to other several infrastructure and air side projects. The airport is the home to airlines such as Royal Wings, Jordan Aviation and Arab Wings, and is operational 24 hours a day.

King Hussein Int'l Airport – Aqaba

Aqaba Airport (also known as King Hussein Int'l Airport) is an airport located in the vicinity of Industrial City, northern suburb of Aqaba in Jordan. The location of Aqaba is unusual, for within a 15 miles (24 km) radius there are three other countries, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel. The airport has a single runway equipped with a category 1 instrument landing system (ILS). Thanks to its normally excellent weather conditions, the airport is rarely closed, though strong southerly winds bring sandstorms across the Red Sea from Egypt.

The airport has a single 28,000 sq. ft. (2,600 m2) terminal building with just one departure gate and one baggage carousel, though the building is being extended. The facilities can cope when there is one aircraft to be handled, but on some occasions when there are three aircraft being turned around simultaneously things can become somewhat crowded. The capacity of the Terminal at present is 1.5 million passengers a year. There are also separate buildings for General Aviation and a Royal Pavilion – King Abdullah II owns a palace along the shoreline and regularly visits. The Royal Jordanian Air Academy are regular visitors on land-away cross country training exercises. Annual passenger figures have risen from around 20,000 per year in the early days to over 90,000 in the year 2000. There are currently around 3,000 aircraft movements a year. A significant proportion of these are training flights, including those of the Royal Jordanian Air Force.

The largest operator at Aqaba is Royal Jordanian. It operates about 10 flights a week to Amman, though extras are frequently scheduled, sometimes to coincide with passenger changeover on cruise ships. The airline operates Embraer E175 Regional Jets that undertake the journey in 45 minutes. These jets have replaced the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft used by the Royal Wings subsidiary and have a total of 72 seats, 10 of which are business class. The airline also undertakes about six charter flights to Europe, with European charter airlines adding a further dozen. German carriers are particularly well represented. Aqaba is an airport that can handle the largest

Jordan Aviation

Jordan Aviation was founded in 2000 and its operations were initiated in October 2000. It is the first privately owned charter airline. It is registered as one of the official carriers of the United Nations Peacekeeping forces worldwide. Based in Amman, Jordan Aviation is an air carrier that operates scheduled regional flights, particularly, in the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa. It also provides wet lease services to major airlines seeking additional capacity. Its main bases are Marka Airport, Amman and Aqaba Airport.  Holiday charter flights are also operated from its bases in Amman. Scheduled services commencing in June 2006 were operated for a period of time from Aqaba to the Arabian Gulf region and North Africa. Jordan Aviation: approx. 700 staff members. The overall national capacity is around 9 million travellers per year.

Local Airlines in Jordan

Royal Jordanian Airlines--known until 1987 as Alia--was the national carrier. Wholly owned by the government and operating since 1946, Royal Jordanian by 1988 had become one of the major Middle Eastern air carriers.

Jordan had two other minor airlines: Arab Air Cargo and Arab Wings. Arab Air Cargo was owned in equal shares by Royal Jordanian and Iraqi Airways. Arab Wings, a passenger charter service, was owned by Royal Jordanian (88 percent) and the Sultanate of Oman (12 percent). The latter company also included a flying ambulance service. There were nineteen usable airfields in Jordan in 1988, of which fourteen had permanent surface runways. Of these, two near Amman were major airfields: the Queen Alia International Airport, opened in 1983 and located at Al Jizah, thirty kilometers south of Amman, and the old international airport at Marka, King Abdullah Airport, used primarily by the Royal Jordanian Air Force.