Royal Jordanian Ready for Misrata Launch

Oneworld alliance member Royal Jordanian is making final preparations to resume flights between Amman and the Libyan city of Misrata; its third destination in the North African country after Tripoli and Benghazi. It will offer two flights per week from January 28, 2012 and plans to increase capacity once the new service had bedded down.

Alongside the growing movement of Jordanian and Libyan businessmen between the two countries, Royal Jordanian expects a large proportion of the traffic on this route to come from Libyan citizens visiting Amman to receive treatment and various medical services at Jordanian hospitals. According to the airline’s President and Chief Executive, Hussein Dabbas, there are already a large number of Libyans being transported to Jordan for medical treatment, a more local alternative than travelling into Europe.

Misrata has developed considerably in the past four decades following a mass migration of Libyans to the city, which is located on the Mediterranean Sea, just over 200km east of Tripoli. This has helped the local economy grow and the city is now home to a population of an estimated 350,000 people and is the home of some of the country’s significant businesses, including the Libyan Iron and Steel Company.

Royal Jordanian will now operate 12 weekly flights between Jordan and Libya with the new Embraer E-Jet service to Misrata complementing its existing six times weekly link to Tripoli and four times weekly service to Benghazi. These routes were recently resumed after being suspended for around ten months following the political tensions in Libya last year.