Jordan rejects establishing Israeli airport near Aqaba

Jordan has rejected an Israeli plan to establish an alternative airport instead of the Eilat Airport near the port city of Aqaba. Speaking to Jordan Petra news agency President of the Civil Aviation Regulatory Commission (CARC) Captain Mohammad Quran said that the Jordanian side, during recent negotiations on civil aviation with the Israeli side, expressed its rejection about plans to construct an airport as an alternative to the Eilat Airport near Aqaba. He said that the Israeli proposal for the site of the new airport does not meet international requirements, pointing to the articles of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, one of which states that every state has complete and exclusive sovereignty over airspace above its territory. The CARC president said the Israeli side was informed about Jordan's rejection of the proposed site, adding that it is close to the King Hussein Bin Talal Airport in Aqaba and will affect aviation safety. "We requested the Israeli side to search for a new location that meets the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and inform us about the new location for assessment," Quran added.