Resumption of Low-Cost Flights from Europe to Jordan

SadaNews - Low-cost airlines have gradually resumed their flights to Jordan from Europe, according to Haitham Musto, the head of the Civil Aviation Authority in the Kingdom.

Jordanian News Agency (Petra) quoted Musto as saying that "Wizz Air Hungary" has begun operating two flights per week to the Kingdom from the capital Budapest, while Ryanair will resume operations to 16 destinations in Europe starting October 28, and will begin with two destinations starting September 20.

The Jordanian official added that three other low-cost airlines are studying the operation of regular flights from Europe to Jordan and vice versa, noting that a permit has been granted to Ryanair to operate regular flights for the winter season to 16 destinations in Europe.

A statement from the Jordanian Ministry of Tourism released last month indicated that the upcoming winter season will witness the operation of the largest network of direct low-cost flights linking Jordan to 18 European destinations, with these connections being made through Wizz and Ryanair in addition to Eurowings.

The tourism sector has been negatively affected by tensions in the region, and this impact was exacerbated by the cessation of low-cost airlines' flights to Jordan due to the Iranian-Israeli war.

Hussein Hilalat, Deputy President of the Jordanian Hotel Association, confirmed that the cessation of these flights had a negative impact, leading to the cancellation of at least 95% of reservations in Petra during June.

The return of low-cost airlines to Jordan, with this extensive network of contributing routes, is expected to help revive tourist movement to good levels, especially with hopes for improvements in geopolitical conditions and the end of the tensions plaguing the region which hinder any tourism plans.

The Tourism Promotion Authority indicated that the number of tourists arriving via low-cost flights reached 100,000 during the first five months of this year, while tourism revenues in the first half of 2025 rose to about $3.7 billion, despite a decline of 3.7% in June due to regional tensions.

Incoming tourism revenues increased by about 11.9% in the first half of this year, according to data from the Central Bank of Jordan.

The number of travelers coming to the Kingdom through low-cost airlines reached 344,781 passengers last year (2024) via Ryanair and Wizz Air, while the number of travelers in 2023 through six airlines was 885,547 passengers.