QAIA traffic shows measured April recovery

Queen Alia International Airport handled 411,865 passengers in April 2026, signalling a month-on-month recovery in Jordan’s aviation activity while remaining sharply below last year’s level as regional instability continued to weigh on travel demand.

Airport International Group, the Jordanian company operating the airport, said passenger traffic rose 11.2 per cent from March but fell 49.5 per cent compared with April 2025. Aircraft movements reached 3,953, up 10.4 per cent month on month and down 38.7 per cent year on year. Cargo traffic stood at 4,114 tonnes, marking a 44.3 per cent increase from March and a 34.7 per cent decline from the same month last year.

The figures place April as a tentative stabilisation point after a difficult first quarter for Jordan’s main international gateway. QAIA welcomed 1,978,702 passengers during the first three months of 2026, down 7.4 per cent compared with the same period of 2025. Aircraft movements in the quarter reached 17,278, while cargo totalled 11,414 tonnes, reflecting the pressure that disruptions across regional airspace placed on passenger flows, airline scheduling and freight operations.

AIG has framed the April performance as evidence of operational resilience rather than a full recovery. The airport remained open and functional through a period in which regional tensions complicated travel planning and forced airlines across parts of the Middle East to adjust schedules. The month-on-month rise suggests that passenger confidence and airline activity began to improve after a weaker March, but the steep annual decline shows that the sector remains exposed to geopolitical shocks, changing booking behaviour and cautious inbound tourism demand.

Nicolas Deviller, chief executive of Airport International Group, said QAIA continued to operate with flexibility and adaptability amid regional challenges affecting travel demand and air traffic across the sector. He said the priority remained ensuring smooth and reliable continuity of operations for passengers and cargo, in close cooperation with teams and partners, while maintaining the airport’s role in Jordan’s air connectivity.

The April figures are particularly significant because QAIA entered 2026 from a position of strong growth. The airport handled 9.79 million passengers in 2025, its highest annual total, after an 11.27 per cent rise from 2024. Aircraft movements reached 80,565 last year, while cargo stood at 69,770 tonnes. That performance had reinforced expectations that Jordan’s aviation sector would build further momentum through tourism, expatriate travel and expanded long-haul links.

Those expectations have become more complex. Tourism revenue reached about $2.17 billion during the first four months of 2026, down 9.5 per cent from the same period last year. The decline underlines the close relationship between airport traffic, regional perceptions of safety and the performance of hotels, tour operators, transport providers and heritage destinations such as Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea.

Aviation planners are nevertheless pressing ahead with network development. QAIA added four routes during the first quarter in cooperation with Royal Jordanian, connecting Amman with Misrata, Munich, Hamburg and Sharjah. The additions strengthened links with North Africa, Germany and the Gulf, while supporting Jordan’s effort to defend its position as a business, tourism and transit hub despite volatile regional conditions.

Royal Jordanian has also expanded its long-haul profile. The carrier launched direct flights between Amman and Dallas Fort Worth in May 2026, operating four weekly services with Boeing Dreamliner aircraft. The route adds another US gateway to the airline’s network and is designed to capture demand from business travellers, diaspora communities, tourism flows and onward connections through Amman.

Low-cost travel could provide a further lift from July, when budget flights to Jordan are expected to resume after months of disruption. The return of such services would be important for European visitor traffic, a segment that is highly sensitive to route availability, fares and security perceptions. For Jordan, restoring lower-cost capacity is central to rebuilding volume across leisure markets without relying only on full-service carriers.

QAIA’s cargo performance in April also offered a mixed signal. The 44.3 per cent monthly increase showed stronger movement of goods after March, but the annual decline confirmed that freight activity had not regained last year’s level. Cargo flows through Amman remain linked to regional logistics patterns, pharmaceutical exports, e-commerce shipments and air connectivity across Europe, the Gulf and neighbouring markets.