Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJ) has announced it will start regular direct services to Algerian capital Algiers, starting February 25, connecting Jordan and Algeria for the first time since the company’s establishment 50 years ago.

RJ president/chief executive Amer Hadidi said there will be two weekly flights between Amman and Algiers.

As of April 1, the airline will add a third flight, in order to meet the demand on travel that is expected to witness a gradual growth in the coming months.

“The airline's decision to put Algiers on its route network is based on the market research, which also showed the different categories of passengers served by this route,” Hadidi said. “Business travellers are amongst the passengers on this route, especially those working in the pharmaceutical industries.”

The Algiers route will see active traffic to the Kingdom from medical tourists, the statement said. Jordan is fast becoming a very attractive destination for medical tourism in the region.

Connecting Amman with Algiers through a direct scheduled service is bound to boost tourism in both countries, and also develop economic relations, Hadidi said.

The route is also intended to help the movement of goods between the two countries. Algeria is a promising market that has the capability to absorb Jordanian products.

“This route will feed other RJ routes in the region, particularly Jeddah and Madinah, when Algerian passengers will transit via Amman to conduct Umrah and Hajj in Saudi Arabia,” he added.

Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world and the largest in Africa. It owns a wide range of tourist and archeological sites that attract people from all over the world. It has an estimated population of 37 million.

Houari Boumediene Airport, which was built in 1924, is the main airport of the country and the operations center for Air Algerie. - TradeArabia News Service