Royal Jordanian to get $141m cash injection
Doha, June 2, 2014
Royal Jordanian Airlines will receive a cash injection of 100 million dinars ($141 million) this year, which will help the carrier recover from operational losses on its Middle Eastern routes, an executive said on Monday.
Since the start of the Arab Spring rebellions two years ago, regional airlines have been impacted by a drop in traveller numbers and other issues.
Royal Jordanian said last year it would stop flying over Syrian airspace for security reasons, a move that affected Beirut, a major destination. An alternative route via Egyptian airspace and over the Mediterranean meant a longer journey for its four daily flights.
The airline stopped regular flights to Damascus in 2012 along with some other carriers.
"We have been affected by the situation in the Middle East, I would say that around 40 per cent of our business is in this region," Basma Al-Majali, acting vice president of the airline's commercial section told Reuters on the sidelines of the International Air Transport Association (Iata) conference.
She said the airline expects to receive the 100 million dinar injection this year, half funded by the government and the rest by unnamed outside investors.
She added she expected the move to help the airline return to profits "within a year or two". - Reuters
