Jordan rejects Israeli plan to establish airport near Aqaba

The Joint Jordanian-Israeli Transport Committee held a meeting on Thursday to discuss an Israeli plan to establish the Timna Airport near the borders between the two countries, north of the port city of Aqaba.The official spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, Sabah Rafi, said Jordan strongly rejected any plans for the construction of the airport on technical and legal grounds. The Jordanian side said setting up an airport would violate Jordan’s sovereignty over its own air space, multiple articles of the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, and the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), reported Jordan news agency Petra.Rafi added that the proposed airport site is close to the King Hussein Bin Talal Airport in Aqaba and will affect aviation safety.