ROYAL JORDANIAN Airline subsidiary Royal Wings plans to launch a direct air service between Amman, Jordan, and the Israeli City of Tel Aviv starting in early 1996.
The start-up carrier has signed a lease agreement with Bombardier de Havilland for a single Dash 8-300 turboprop to operate on the route. The 50-seat aircraft will be flown from Amman's Marka City Airport to Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel.
The service is the result of a recently concluded bilateral air-services agreement between the two countries. The yet-to-be-ratified agreement allows for a 50-seat aircraft from each country to be operated five times a day on the 110km (60nm)-long sector.
An Israeli carrier has still to be officially designated to operate the route. Arkia, though, is considered the most likely Israeli airline and already operates suitably sized Dash 7 turboprops.
Royal Wings plans to launch services from I January with a twice-daily service between Amman and the southern Jordanian port of Aqaba.
Israel and Jordan plan to establish a joint airport for Aqaba and the neighbouring Israeli resort of Eilat, as part of a new Red Sea business area.
Other planned Royal Wings' destinations include Alexandria and Sharm El Sheik in Egypt and Beirut and Damascus. The number of aircraft is likely accordingly to increase to around six.
Source: Flight International
