Stansted airport has launched a new route to a Middle Eastern country.

Royal Jordanian Airlines celebrated the inaugural flight of its new four times a week service from Stansted to Amman, the capital of Jordan.

It is a brand new route and airline for the airport and will connect the east of England to Royal Jordanian’s global network of destinations across the Middle East and Asia.

The flag carrier, a member of the Oneworld alliance, will operate flights from Stansted to Queen Alia International Airport every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

The airline's first flight on Sunday, March 3, was celebrated by passengers, crew and airport officials, including airport aviation director Simon Gorrighan.

Braintree and Witham Times: Simon Gorrighan (cutting the cake), London Stansted’s Aviation Director, celebrates the first flight with the Royal Jordanian crewSimon Gorrighan (cutting the cake), London Stansted’s Aviation Director, celebrates the first flight with the Royal Jordanian crew (Image: Tony Pick)

He said: “We are delighted to add another exciting destination to London Stansted's network, giving our passengers even more choice with a world-class airline.

“The route will give tourists the opportunity to visit this wonderful country and see the golden triangle, which includes the Wadi Rum desert, Petra, one of the seven wonders of the world, and Aqaba, a popular diving site on the Red Sea.”

As part of the announcement of the new route in December, Royal Jordanian chief commercial officer Karim Makhlouf said: “Our new route to London Stansted will make it easier than ever for tourists from the UK to discover Jordan’s incredible wonders.

“Promoting and driving tourism to the kingdom is a key focus of our new corporate strategy — as is our emphasis on further developing Amman as the primary gateway to the Levant by offering improved connectivity to our broader network.”