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.



Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Lebanon's Presidential Election is My Priority After Ceasefire

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with French President's Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 November 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with French President's Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 November 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
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Berri to Asharq Al-Awsat: Lebanon's Presidential Election is My Priority After Ceasefire

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with French President's Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 November 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH
Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (R) meets with French President's Special Envoy to Lebanon Jean-Yves Le Drian (L), in Beirut, Lebanon, 28 November 2024. EPA/WAEL HAMZEH

Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has set the presidential election session for January 9, 2024, calling it a “productive” meeting and announcing that accredited ambassadors in Lebanon will be invited.

Berri told Asharq Al-Awsat that his priority after the ceasefire with Israel is the presidential election, which he called a “national necessity.”

The announcement came as French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived in Beirut for talks with Lebanese leaders about restarting stalled political efforts due to the war between Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Both Berri and Prime Minister Najib Mikati received a call from French President Emmanuel Macron late Wednesday.

Macron discussed with Mikati the current situation in Lebanon following the ceasefire, as well as the implementation of decisions made at the recent Lebanon Support Conference in Paris.

In his call with Berri, Macron addressed the general situation, recent steps taken by Lebanon regarding the ceasefire and Israeli provocations, and preparations for the presidential election.

This renewed presidential push comes after more than two years of a vacant presidency, with Lebanese political parties still divided over a consensus candidate.