Airports & airlines

Airports & airlines

The national airline, Royal Jordanian  is well run and has direct flights to most major cities in Europe and all over the Middle East. Royal Wings, a subsidiary of Royal Jordanian, has smaller planes for short flights from Amman to Tel Aviv (daily), Aqaba and Sharm el-Sheikh (four weekly).

The modern Queen Alia International Airport (06 4452000), about 35km south of Amman, is the country's main gateway. There are two terminals, only 100m apart and opposite each other. Terminal 1 is used for most Royal Jordanian flights and Terminal 2 is used by other airlines. Both terminals have ATMs, foreign exchange counters, a post office and a left luggage counter. The departure lounge has a decent café if you need to use up your remaining dinar.

The only airport hotel here is the Alia Hotel, a couple of kilometres from the airport terminal. You should be put up here if your flight is delayed or has an enforced overnight stopover. Otherwise, you can get a 50% discount on the room rate if you have an international ticket on Royal Jordanian. If you are just transiting Amman for a few hours you can use the pool for JD5.

The former military airfield in Marka, northeast of central Amman, is used by Royal Wings for a few flights to Aqaba and Tel Aviv in Israel & the Palestinian Territories. The only other international (and domestic) airport is at Aqaba, and some international carriers stop in Aqaba en route to Amman. There are occasional charter flights between Europe and Aqaba.