Royal Wings (Amman Marka) has secured a contract with the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) for the provision of scheduled charter flights between the Red Sea resort town of Aqaba and various destinations in the Middle East and Europe.

In a statement, Nasser Shraideh, the chief commissioner of ASEZA, said the Royal Jordanian (RJ, Amman Queen Alia) charter unit would commence services to Beirut and Cairo International over the coming three months while flights to Brussels National, Stockholm Arlanda, and Helsinki Vantaa would commence next year.

The move is part of the Jordanian government's drive to lure more tourist traffic to the region which has suffered given the conflict in Syria and civil unrest in nearby Egypt.

Other measures undertaken include the exempting of regular airlines and charter carrier from paying taxes and fees at Aqaba airport, as well as reducing electricity prices in the tourism sector.

Israel has already announced similar subsidies on flights to Eilat Ovda International, situated just 37 kilometres away from Aqaba.