Royal Jordanian will end service to five cities and reduce the number of flights to seven other destinations, the airline announced on Tuesday, citing rising fuel costs and reduced tourism to the Middle East.
The sun sets on an arriving Royal Jordanian Airbus A340-200 (F-OHLQ). (Photo by Brian Futterman)
All flights to Brussels, Munich and Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, will be discontinued in March and April. The airline said it would also end two additional routes to the Gulf region, but will announce them later.
Frequencies to cities “like Rome, Vienna, Zurich, Geneva, Amsterdam, Colombo and Khartoum” will be reduced. Other cities may also see changes this year depending on performance.
Jordan’s flag carrier said the lowered tourism demand, especially from Europe, was “the outcome of the Arab spring and the political unrest.” After canceling over 1,300 flights in 2011, the airline has already canceled more than 460 flights this year due to low demand. Tunis, Damascus, Aleppo, Sana’a, Aden, Bahrain, Cairo, Alexandria and Sharm El Sheikh have all seen reduced traffic, the airline said.
In addition, Royal Jordanian said its 2011 operating costs increased 20 percent over the previous year, due largely to a rise in fuel expenses.
Royal Jordanian currently operates a fleet of 33 aircraft to over 60 destinations around the world.
