Queen Alia International Airport

Queen Alia International Airport (IATA: AMM, ICAO: OJAI) (Arabic: مطار الملكة علياء الدولي‎, romanized: Maṭār al-Malika ʿAlyāʾ ad-Dawaliyy) is Jordan's main and largest airport and is located in Zizya 30 kilometres (20 mi) south of the capital city, Amman. It is named after Queen Alia, who died in a helicopter crash in 1977. The airport is home to the country's national flag carrier, Royal Jordanian Airlines and serves as a major hub for Jordan Aviation.

"Amman Airport" redirects here. For Amman's other airport, see Amman Civil Airport.

Queen Alia International Airport

مطار الملكة علياء الدولي

Maṭār al-Malika ʿAlyāʾ ad-Dawaliyy
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerAIG group & Government of Jordan
OperatorAIG Group
ServesAmman
LocationZizya, Jordan
Hub for
Elevation AMSL730 m / 2,395 ft
Coordinates31°43′21″N 35°59′36″E
Map
AMM
Location of airport in Jordan
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
08R/26L 12,008 3,660 Concrete
08L/26R 12,008 3,660 Asphalt
Statistics (2020)
Aircraft movementsSuspended
Passengers2,049,770

A state-of-the-art new terminal was inaugurated in March 2013 to replace the airport's older two passenger terminals and one cargo terminal.[1] The three original terminals were made obsolete once the new terminal officially began operations. In 2014, the new airport received the "Best Improvement by Region: Middle East" and "Best Airport by Region: Middle East" awards by the Airport Council International. The awards are given to the airports which achieved the highest customer satisfaction in the ASQ Survey.[2]

History

Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) was built in 1983[3] in response to the growing airport traffic needs that Amman Civil Airport could not accommodate. At the time, passenger traffic was increasing at a rate above the international average, recording 25–30% growth per annum and placing considerable pressure on airport facilities despite continuous expansion and development. In 1981, the number of arriving, departing and transit passengers exceeded 2.3 million, while cargo traffic reached 62,000 tonnes and aircraft traffic topped 27,000 movements.[4]

The Jordanian Ministry of Transport undertook building a new international airport with sufficient capacity to cope with demand in the foreseeable future. QAIA was built at an estimated total cost of JOD 84 million. Passenger facilities were designed to serve 3.5 million passengers per annum.[4]

QAIA has since grown to become the kingdom's primary international gateway and a stop-over for international airlines in the Middle East. By 2012, QAIA was serving on average more than 6 million passengers and 40 airlines from around the world.[4]

In 2007 the Government of Jordan selected Airport International Group (AIG) through an open tender to operate, rehabilitate and manage QAIA under a 25-year concession agreement. In response to the continual surge in passenger traffic at the time, AIG was also placed in charge of constructing a new terminal, one which not only would expand the airport's then insufficient annual capacity of 3.5 million passengers, but that would also introduce a "unique travel experience" to help advance QAIA's position as a niche transit hub in the region.[5][6][7]

Accordingly, AIG invested an estimated US$750 million in the construction of the new terminal.[8]

The new terminal is also equipped to accommodate rising annual passenger traffic, taking the original airport capacity from 3.5 million passengers per year to 7.5 million.

Inaugurated on 14 March 2013, by King Abdullah II,[7] the new airport was officially launched following an overnight operational transfer. The last flight departed from the old terminal at 10:05 pm on 20 March 2013, upon which all operations were shifted to the new terminal, where its first flight departed at 2:30 am on 21 March 2013.[9]

On 20 January 2014, AIG launched the second phase of QAIA's expansion, valued at a total cost of over US$100 million. Completed in 2016, the second expansion phase raised QAIA's annual passenger traffic capacity to up to 12 million and was priced at $1 billion,[10] subsequently supporting Jordan's national tourism strategy goals to serve as a regional transit hub for leisure and business travel. The aims to boost its capacity to 16 million passengers annually by the end of the concession time frame in 2032.[11] Following the airport expansion, Emirates operated a one-off Airbus A380 service to Amman, celebrating 30 years of Emirates' operation to Jordan. The super jumbo (registration A6-EUC) operated EK901/EK902 on September 25, 2016, and it was the first ever A380 service to the Levant.[12]

On 14 March 2020, it was announced by the Jordanian Ministry of Health that "...all flights to and from the Kingdom will be suspended from Tuesday, March 17, 2020, until further notice, excluding commercial freight traffic."[13] The airport had been closed to passenger traffic since 17 March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, several Royal Jordanian flights were commissioned to return Jordanian citizens, especially students, back to Jordan during the pandemic if they desired.[13]

On 8 September 2020, the airport was reopened for commercial flights but was subject to strict health and safety regulations.[14]

Terminal

QAIA's new design was created by architects Foster + Partners.[15] Its main characteristic is the roof that was inspired by Bedouin tents and is composed of 127 concrete domes, each weighing up to 600 metric tonnes.[16]

The airport has three lounges, one operated by Royal Jordanian for business and first class passengers, and one operated by Airport Hotel next to the North Concourse, and the last exclusively run by telecom operator Zain Jordan for its VIP customers. Retail space was expanded by 25% at the new terminal, covering more than 6,000 square metres (65,000 sq ft). The terminal houses several international food and beverage venues that include restaurants, supermarkets and a nuts roastery; a larger Duty Free area; a children's play area; additional shopping outlets; and internet connectivity.

Airport management

Airport International Group (AIG) is a French company formed to rehabilitate, expand and operate Queen Alia International Airport under a 25-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) concession agreement.[5] The concession was awarded to AIG in 2007 by the Government of Jordan after an open international tender that was overseen by the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank acting as an advisor to the Government. AIG's shareholders are French, Persian Gulf, and Palestinian partners. As of 2018, 51% of the shares are owned by Aéroports de Paris (ADP). The other shareholders are Meridiam Eastern Europe Investments (32%), Mena Airport Holding Ltd. (funded by the IDB; 12.75%) and the EDGO Group (owned by the al-Masri family; 4.75%).

Through the BOT public-private partnership framework, the Government retains ownership of the airport and receives 54.47% of the airport's gross revenues for the first six years, and 54.64% of the gross revenues for the remaining 19 years of the agreement's 25-year term.[17]

As part of its public-private partnership with the Government of Jordan, AIG closely collaborates with the Government on a day-to-day basis on all issues related to the airport. A dedicated project management unit within the Jordanian Ministry of Transport oversees the project for the Government. The Ministry of Transport receives full annual financial statements as well as quarterly financial and operational reports.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger
AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Athens[18]
Air Algerie Algiers
Air Arabia Alexandria, Assiut, Sharjah
Seasonal: Sharm El Sheikh[19]
Air Cairo Alexandria, Assiut, Sohag
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Air Serbia Belgrade
Alitalia Seasonal: Rome–Fiumicino
Austrian Airlines Vienna[20]
Bravo Airways Kiev–Zhuliany
Seasonal: Kharkiv
British Airways London–Heathrow
EgyptAir Cairo
Emirates Dubai–International
Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi
FlyBaghdad Baghdad
flydubai Dubai–Al Maktoum,[21] Dubai–International
FlyEgypt Alexandria, Assiut, Sohag
Flynas Jeddah, Riyadh
Georgian Airways Seasonal charter: Batumi,[22] Tbilisi[23]
Gulf Air Bahrain
Iraqi Airways Baghdad, Basra, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah
Jazeera Airways Kuwait
Jordan Aviation Aqaba,[24] Baghdad, Beirut, Cairo, Dubai–International,[24] Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, Jeddah, Kuwait, Larnaca,[25] Sharjah
Seasonal: Antalya, Sharm El Sheikh
Seasonal charter: Sarajevo[26]
Kuwait Airways Kuwait
Libyan Airlines Tripoli–Mitiga
Lufthansa Frankfurt
Middle East Airlines Beirut
Nordwind Airlines Moscow–Sheremetyevo
Oman Air Muscat
Onur Air Seasonal: Istanbul
Pegasus Airlines Ankara,[27] Antalya, Izmir,[28] Trabzon[29]
Qatar Airways Doha
Royal Jordanian Abu Dhabi, Algiers, Amsterdam, Aqaba, Athens, Baghdad,[30] Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Barcelona, Basra, Beirut, Berlin, Cairo, Chicago–O'Hare, Copenhagen,[31] Dammam, Detroit, Doha, Dubai–International, Erbil, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Jeddah, Khartoum, Kuala Lumpur–International, Kuwait, Larnaca, London–Heathrow, Madrid, Medina, Montréal–Trudeau, Moscow–Domodedovo, Munich, Najaf,[32] New York–JFK, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Riyadh, Rome–Fiumicino, Sulaymaniyah,[33] Tel Aviv, Tunis, Vienna, Zürich
Seasonal: Antalya[34]
Ryanair Kraków, Paphos, Thessaloniki
Seasonal: Bergamo, Bologna, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Memmingen, Prague, Warsaw–Modlin
Saudia Jeddah, Riyadh
SaudiGulf Airlines Riyadh
SkyUp Kiev–Boryspil[35]
Syrian Air Damascus
Tarco Airlines Khartoum
TAROM Bucharest
Transavia Seasonal: Amsterdam,[36][37] Lyon,[38] Paris–Orly[39]
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
Seasonal: Antalya,[40] Dalaman[41]
UR Airlines Baghdad[42]
Yemenia Aden, Seiyun

Cargo
AirlinesDestinations
Cargolux[43] Luxembourg
Royal Jordanian Cargo[44] Baghdad, Cairo, Erbil, Maastricht/Aachen
Saudia Cargo[45] Riyadh
Turkish Cargo[46] Istanbul–Atatürk

Statistics
The new terminal building
The new airport
Apron overview with the old terminal visible

See source Wikidata query.

Passenger Numbers
YearTotal passengersGrowth
2002 2,334,779
2003 2,358,475 1%
2004 2,988,174 21%
2005 3,301,510 9%
2006 3,506,070 6%
2007 3,861,126[47] 9%
2008 4,477,811[47] 14%
2009 4,770,769[48] 6%
2010 5,422,301[49] 12%
2011 5,467,726[50] 1%
2012 6,250,048[51] 13%
2013 6,502,000[52] 4%
2014 7,089,008[53] 9%
2015 7,095,685[54] 0%
2016 7,410,274[55] 4.4%
2017 7,914,704[56] 6.8%
2018 8,425,026[57] 6.5%
2019 8,924,080[58] 5.9%
Handled cargo
Year Total Cargo (in tons) Growth
2016[59] 101,206
2017[59] 110,416 9.1%
2018[60] 104,216 -6.7%
2019[60] 102,549 -1.6%
Aircraft movement
YearTotal Aircraft movements
2007 44,672
2008 51,314
2009 57,726
2010 62,863
2011 63,426
2012[61] 67,190
2014[53] 73,125
2015 73,584
2016 73,784
2017[56] 74,044
2018[60] 76,894
2019[60] 79,740

Awards

The global Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Survey for Q1 2014 ranked QAIA at first place in 18 different service and facility categories from among 10 airports across the Middle East. QAIA also came in at 13th place from amongst 81 airports worldwide within the group of airports serving 5-15 million passengers and recorded an Overall Satisfaction Score of 4.42 out of a possible 5.0, an improvement compared to its 4.23 score in Q4 2013. With regards to luggage delivery speed, QAIA earned a 4.13 score, up from 3.99 during the previous quarter.

QAIA also received two 2013 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards[62] in February 2014, ranking at 1st place in the category of "Best Improvement by Region: Middle East" and 5th in the category of "Best Airport by Region: Middle East". The ASQ Awards results are based on the ASQ Survey, an international airport passenger satisfaction benchmark program.[63] In the 2014 version of the wards, QAIA again received the "Best Improvement In the Middle east region" award and leaped forward to become the best airport in the middle east, ahead of Abu Dhabi International Airport, Ben Gurion International Airport, Hamad International Airport and Dubai International Airport.[64]

In March 2013, QAIA was named one of the world's top 40 Public–private partnership PPP projects, receiving Gold recognition as "Best Emerging Market Infrastructure Project for Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa" in Emerging Partnerships.[65] The winning PPPs, selected from among projects nominated by governments, industry, NGOs, academia and other organisations following a global call for submissions, demonstrated best practices for governments working with the private sector to provide a wide range of public services and to spur economic development in their countries.[65]

In June 2013, QAIA became the second airport in the Middle East to achieve the "Mapping" level of the Airport Carbon Accreditation program run by Airports Council International Europe. The 'Mapping' level recognizes the airport's commitment to determining its carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emission sources at its operational boundary, as well as to engaging a third party to verify the airport's annual carbon footprint.[66]

Access

The airport is connected to Amman by Sariyah shuttle buses that ply back and forth around the clock between Amman and the airport every 30 minutes.

An airport taxi service is also available around the clock. A Rent-a-Car service is also available at the airport.

QAIA's parking facilities are divided into three key areas:

  • Departure curbside area: Reserved for passenger drop-offs and pick-ups, drivers entering the departure curbside must purchase a ticket to enter. Drivers receive a 10-minute free-of-charge grace period.
  • Short-term parking lot: Cars parked in this area are subject to an hourly parking fee.
  • Long-term parking lot: Designed for passengers who wish to leave their vehicles at the airport while travelling, the long-term lot charges drivers daily parking fees.

A shuttle bus is available to transport passengers between the terminal and car park.

See also

References
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  2. "Middle East". Retrieved 4 June 2015.
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  21. "flydubai to add new operations from DWC". flydubai. 4 August 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
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  66. "QAIA Receives Airport Carbon Accreditation" (Press release). Amman, Jordan: Zawya. 27 June 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2014.

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