AMMAN: The national carrier of Jordan said on Monday it will start regular direct flights between Amman and Najaf, in Iraq, on July 9, 2015.
This will increase the number of Iraqi destinations on the Royal Jordanian (RJ) network to six, including Mosul, which has been suspended since June 2014, RJ said in a statement. Haitham Misto, the airline’s CEO and president, said that new flights to Najaf would expand the RJ network and strengthen its Levant strategy, and enhance commercial, social and cultural ties.
RJ will operate two flights to Najaf weekly, on Mondays and Thursdays. The airline currently operates flights between Amman and the Iraqi cities of Baghdad, Erbil, Basra and Sulaymaniyah. Since the start of unrest in several Arab states in early 2011, the airline has suspended flights to several destinations in Syria, Iraq and Libya.
Ratification of the agreement will now be taken forward in each member country. A simple majority of 14 countries will be required to ratify and then sign the agreement before the TFTA can come into effect, probably in 2017.
