RJ suspends flights to Kiev 'for commercial reasons'

AMMAN — Royal Jordanian (RJ) said on Monday it has suspended its regular route between Amman and Ukraine’s capital, Kiev, effective of March 27, after eight years of operations that started in August 2008.

The airline said in a statement that the decision is in line with the five-year business plan it is executing. 

One of the pillars of the plan is network restructuring. 

Tourism and air transportation between Jordan and Ukraine lately saw a noticeable regression, affecting the feasibility of the route, the statement said.

RJ said its studies stations' performance to take the appropriate decision, either by increasing frequency, decreasing it, opening new markets or halting routes. 

Recently, the national carrier suspended routes to Delhi, Mumbai, Colombo, Lagos, Accra, Alexandria and Milano.

"The search is ongoing for more opportunities and new markets to broaden the route network, increase revenues and connect Jordan with more cities," RJ said. 

Last year and this year, the airline added five new destinations to its network — Tabuk, Najaf, Ankara, Jakarta and Guangzhou. 

A number of destinations are currently under study, the statement said.

"Today, RJ operates directly to 55 destinations spread over four continents, and reaches more than 1,000 cities onboard its 14 Oneworld partners with only one stop from Amman," the airline added.