Jordan to Resume Regular Commercial Flights from Sept. 8

Passengers arriving to Jordan walk before being checked with thermal scanners for coronavirus symptoms at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan March 4, 2020. (Reuters)
Passengers arriving to Jordan walk before being checked with thermal scanners for coronavirus symptoms at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan March 4, 2020. (Reuters)
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Jordan to Resume Regular Commercial Flights from Sept. 8

Passengers arriving to Jordan walk before being checked with thermal scanners for coronavirus symptoms at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan March 4, 2020. (Reuters)
Passengers arriving to Jordan walk before being checked with thermal scanners for coronavirus symptoms at Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, Jordan March 4, 2020. (Reuters)

Jordan will resume regular international flights from Sept. 8 to help revive an economy badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, after delaying the move several times over the past month, officials said on Wednesday.

Government spokesman Amjad Adailah told a news conference that passengers entering Jordan would need proof of a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of travel, alongside a compulsory test on arrival.

He said the rules would include a minimum of one week of self-isolation to a maximum two weeks of quarantine for foreign travelers depending on the severity of the pandemic in countries they came from.

The government had repeatedly postponed reopening Amman's Alia International Airport, a regional hub, over fears that travelers could bring about a spike in infections. But in recent days worries had mounted about the impact of further delays on the debt-burdened economy.

Jordan has seen almost a doubling of cases in the last month to a total of 2,161 along with 15 deaths - a much smaller known toll than in many other Middle East countries - but authorities remain worried about a severe outbreak.

The closure of Amman's airport dealt a damaging blow to the aid-dependent economy by paralyzing tourism, a major revenue source that was enjoying an unprecedented boom before the pandemic crisis.



France Says Algeria Threatening to Expel Diplomatic Staff 

This handout photograph released by French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) shows France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot meeting with Algeria's Foreign Minister at the ministry headquarters in Algiers on April 6, 2025. (AFP Photo / Handout / Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs)
This handout photograph released by French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) shows France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot meeting with Algeria's Foreign Minister at the ministry headquarters in Algiers on April 6, 2025. (AFP Photo / Handout / Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs)
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France Says Algeria Threatening to Expel Diplomatic Staff 

This handout photograph released by French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) shows France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot meeting with Algeria's Foreign Minister at the ministry headquarters in Algiers on April 6, 2025. (AFP Photo / Handout / Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs)
This handout photograph released by French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (MEAE) shows France's Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot meeting with Algeria's Foreign Minister at the ministry headquarters in Algiers on April 6, 2025. (AFP Photo / Handout / Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs)

France said on Monday that Algeria had threatened to expel 12 of its diplomatic staff and that it would take immediate reprisals should that occur in the latest flare-up between them.

Algeria protested over the weekend against Frances's detention of an Algerian consular agent suspected of involvement in the kidnapping of an Algerian. French media said three people, including the diplomat, were under investigation over the seizure of Algerian government opponent Amir Boukhors.

"The Algerian authorities are demanding that 12 of our agents leave Algerian territory within 48 hours," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in a statement.

"If the decision to expel our agents is maintained, we will have no choice but to respond immediately."

There was no immediate confirmation from Algeria of an imminent expulsion.

France's relations with its former colony have long been complicated, but took a turn for the worse last year when French President Emmanuel Macron angered Algeria by backing Morocco's position over the disputed Western Sahara region.

Only last week, Barrot had said ties were returning to normal after a visit to Algeria.