Royal Jordanian Airlines is set to deepen ties between the Eastern Mediterranean and the Arab world with the launch of direct flights between Amman and Thessaloniki from March 2026. The new route will create a nonstop bridge between Jordan’s capital and Greece’s dynamic second city, underscoring both countries’ ambitions to expand tourism, trade, and cultural exchange across the region. It also aligns with Royal Jordanian’s broader growth strategy to position Amman as a leading gateway to the Levant and a convenient connection point between Europe, the Middle East, and beyond.
A Strategic New Link Between Jordan and Northern Greece
The planned Amman–Thessaloniki service marks a significant step in Jordan’s efforts to diversify its tourism base and in Greece’s long-running push to spread visitor flows beyond Athens and the islands. Thessaloniki, a bustling port city on the Thermaic Gulf, serves as the gateway to northern Greece, the wider Balkans, and key regional road and rail corridors. Amman, through Queen Alia International Airport, has been steadily growing into a hub that connects Europe with the Levant, the Gulf, and North Africa.
By offering a direct route between these two cities, Royal Jordanian will provide faster and more convenient access for travelers who previously needed to connect through major European hubs such as Athens, Istanbul, or Frankfurt. For Jordanians, the new service opens a shorter path to Greece’s cultural and culinary capital of the north, and onwards to destinations like Halkidiki, Mount Olympus, and the wine-producing regions of Macedonia. For Greek travelers, it provides a streamlined way to reach Amman’s ancient sites, the Dead Sea, Petra, Wadi Rum, and connecting destinations across the airline’s expanding network.
This route is particularly relevant at a time when both Jordan and Greece are targeting high-value, year-round tourism rather than purely seasonal summer traffic. Thessaloniki’s vibrant urban scene and university population make it a strong off-season draw, while Jordan’s desert landscapes, religious heritage, and wellness tourism remain attractive throughout the year. The direct link is expected to support this year-round strategy by smoothing travel flows in shoulder and winter months.
Part of Royal Jordanian’s Wider Network Expansion
The Amman–Thessaloniki route is not an isolated development but part of a broader expansion program that Royal Jordanian has been pursuing since 2024. In recent seasons, the carrier has reinstated and launched services across the Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and North America, including routes to Damascus, Aleppo, Casablanca, and Washington, along with a forthcoming transatlantic link from Dallas Fort Worth to Amman in 2026. These moves are aligned with a fleet modernization plan that is bringing new Embraer regional jets, Airbus A320neo aircraft, and additional Boeing 787 Dreamliners into service.
Within this context, Thessaloniki fits neatly into Royal Jordanian’s strategy to broaden its European footprint beyond primary capitals and tap into secondary cities that show strong demand for inbound tourism to Jordan and outbound travel to Europe. The airline has been vocal about its aim to promote Jordan as a destination in its own right while also using Amman as a convenient transit point for travelers heading to neighboring countries in the Levant and the Gulf. The new Greek route will add another spoke to this growing hub model.
For aviation planners, the timing of the launch in March 2026 is also significant. It allows Royal Jordanian to capture demand at the start of the European spring and ramp up awareness before the main summer travel season. The airline is expected to calibrate frequencies and capacity in line with demand, using its newer narrowbody aircraft that are better suited to medium-haul routes such as Amman–Thessaloniki, where flexibility and efficiency are critical.
Tourism Benefits for Both Jordan and Greece
The introduction of direct flights between Amman and Thessaloniki is expected to generate measurable gains for the tourism sectors of both countries. Jordan hopes to attract more visitors from Greece and the wider Balkans who are interested in cultural itineraries, religious tourism, and desert adventures. Petra, one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, remains a powerful draw, while Wadi Rum’s film-set landscapes, the buoyant waters of the Dead Sea, and the capital’s growing food and art scenes provide compelling reasons for extended stays.
For Greece, the route strengthens Thessaloniki’s role as a northern gateway and helps spread visitor arrivals away from saturated hotspots. The city is famous for its waterfront promenade, Byzantine churches, Ottoman landmarks, and lively nightlife, but it is also a jumping-off point for the beaches of Halkidiki, the monastic communities of Mount Athos (accessible via nearby ports), and the ski resorts and mountain villages of northern Greece. Jordanians and other travelers connecting through Amman will have easier access to these destinations without needing to route via Athens.
Tour operators on both sides are expected to react quickly, building new multi-country packages that combine Greece and Jordan in a single itinerary. A typical route could include a few days in Thessaloniki and the northern Greek countryside, followed by a short flight to Amman for a circuit that takes in Madaba, the Dead Sea, Petra, and Aqaba on the Red Sea. Such combinations are particularly appealing to long-haul travelers from Asia, North America, and the Gulf who want to maximize their experience in a single trip.
Strengthening Economic and Cultural Ties
Beyond tourism, the Amman–Thessaloniki route has potential to deepen economic and cultural ties between Jordan and Greece. Thessaloniki is one of Greece’s most important commercial centers, with a busy port and growing logistics sector that serves the Balkans and Southeast Europe. Amman is a key service and investment hub for the Levant, with strong links to markets including Iraq, the Palestinian territories, and the Gulf states. Direct air connectivity can facilitate business trips, trade missions, and investment discussions that were previously more cumbersome due to multi-stop itineraries.
The route also has an important human dimension. Both countries have sizable diasporas, and air links provide a vital bridge for families, students, and professionals who move between Jordan, Greece, and third countries. Thessaloniki’s universities and research centers already attract international students, particularly in medicine, engineering, and humanities. Easier access from Amman could encourage more Jordanian students to consider northern Greek institutions, while giving Greek academics and business leaders a straightforward way to reach Jordanian counterparts.
Cultural exchange is another area where the new service can have impact. Both Jordan and Greece share long histories shaped by ancient civilizations, religious traditions, and layered urban cultures. Direct flights make it easier to organize cultural festivals, film and music collaborations, museum partnerships, and city-to-city projects between Amman and Thessaloniki. Over time, these exchanges can help both destinations position themselves as sophisticated, experience-rich alternatives to better known but more crowded Mediterranean hubs.
Enhanced Connectivity Across the Eastern Mediterranean
One of the most significant implications of the Amman–Thessaloniki flights is the way they enhance connectivity across the Eastern Mediterranean and Balkans. Royal Jordanian’s network from Amman already reaches cities in the Gulf, North Africa, the Levant, and Europe. By pairing Thessaloniki with this hub, the airline will effectively give northern Greece and neighboring regions one-stop access to destinations such as Cairo, Beirut, Baghdad, Riyadh, and Casablanca, alongside its transatlantic network.
This connectivity works in both directions. Travelers from Amman, Damascus, Aleppo, Baghdad, and other regional cities will be able to connect efficiently to northern Greece and the surrounding Balkans, using Thessaloniki as a springboard for overland journeys to countries such as North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Albania. For business travelers, this can shave hours off itineraries that previously required backtracking to major Western European hubs. For leisure travelers, it opens up new options for exploring lesser-known corners of Southeast Europe.
As airlines across Europe and the Middle East reconfigure route maps in response to shifting demand, geopolitical considerations, and evolving passenger preferences, secondary cities are becoming increasingly important. The Amman–Thessaloniki route is a textbook example of this trend: a focused, medium-haul connection that plugs two high-potential regions into each other’s ecosystems without relying solely on traditional mega-hubs.
Fleet, Schedule, and Passenger Experience
While precise schedules and aircraft assignments are typically finalized closer to launch, Royal Jordanian is expected to draw on its modern single-aisle fleet to operate the Amman–Thessaloniki route. The airline has been introducing new-generation Airbus A320neo aircraft and Embraer regional jets configured with upgraded cabins, personal entertainment screens, and inflight connectivity. These aircraft are well suited to flights of around two to three hours, offering a balance of efficiency and onboard comfort that appeals to both leisure and business passengers.
From a scheduling perspective, Royal Jordanian is likely to time departures to maximize connection opportunities at Queen Alia International Airport. Morning or late-evening flights from Thessaloniki could be synced with connecting banks to major destinations in the Gulf and the wider Middle East, while services from Amman to Greece may align with onward ground transport and domestic flights within Greece. As March 2026 approaches, travelers can expect more detailed information on weekly frequencies, departure times, and seasonal adjustments.
Passenger experience is another area where Royal Jordanian has been investing, with a focus on refreshed cabin interiors, improved catering with regional influences, and digital services such as mobile boarding passes and enhanced self-service options. The airline aims to leverage these improvements on new routes like Thessaloniki to position itself as a competitive choice against European and regional carriers that also serve Greece and the Eastern Mediterranean.
Positioning Amman as a Rising Regional Hub
The launch of direct flights to Thessaloniki will further reinforce Amman’s evolving role as a regional aviation hub. Over the past few years, Royal Jordanian and airport authorities have worked to upgrade facilities, expand route networks, and improve transfer flows through Queen Alia International Airport. The airport has focused on streamlining security, enhancing lounge offerings, and improving retail and food options to appeal to connecting passengers from Europe, the United States, the Gulf, and neighboring countries.
Every new route that Royal Jordanian introduces or resumes strengthens this hub proposition by adding more choice and flexibility to the network. Thessaloniki will contribute new origin and destination traffic while also acting as an additional feeder to long-haul flights. For example, travelers from northern Greece could connect through Amman to Royal Jordanian’s services to North America and key cities in the Middle East, reducing their reliance on larger but more congested European hubs. Conversely, residents of Jordan and nearby countries gain a new European gateway that complements existing connections to major cities like Athens, Rome, and Berlin.
As competition intensifies across the Middle East and Mediterranean aviation markets, the success of routes like Amman–Thessaloniki will be an important indicator of how well Royal Jordanian’s strategy is resonating with travelers. If demand proves strong, it could pave the way for additional connections between Amman and other secondary European and North African cities with similar profiles.
Outlook: A Timely Route for a Changing Travel Landscape
The direct flights between Amman and Thessaloniki, scheduled to commence in March 2026, arrive at a time when travelers are seeking more authentic, less crowded destinations and more efficient ways to combine multiple countries in a single trip. Jordan and Greece are well positioned to benefit from this shift, offering rich cultural heritage, diverse landscapes, and strong culinary traditions that appeal to a wide range of visitors.
If the route performs as expected, it will not only support tourism growth but also foster deeper economic, academic, and cultural exchanges between Jordan and northern Greece. The service underscores how targeted aviation links can bring regions closer together, creating new opportunities for cooperation that extend far beyond the airport terminal. For travelers watching the Eastern Mediterranean and Balkans with fresh interest, the Amman–Thessaloniki connection will be a welcome new option on the map from spring 2026 onward.