Summary
- Royal Jordanian’s Zuwar Stopover Program incentivizes passengers to visit sites in Jordan during connecting flights.
- The program offers guided tours, hotel stays, and specific flights through Royal Jordanian to eligible passengers.
- Zuwar passengers can visit Petra, Jerash, the Dead Sea, and more while following certain terms and conditions.
Jordan, a Middle Eastern nation between Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Syria, is home to an impressive array of archaeological sites, including the legendary city of Petra. Attempting to navigate one’s way to the site can prove challenging, and, as a result, many will choose to forgo this one-of-a-kind attraction when visiting the Middle East.
Jordan’s national flag carrier, Royal Jordanian, has become a major player on the global aviation stage in recent years, launching new routes to dozens of destinations across Europe, Asia, and North America. With a convenient, centrally-located hub at Amman’s Queen Alia International Airport (AMM), the airline has no shortage of passengers who connect through Jordan on their flights en route to global destinations.
Photo: Vytautas Kielaitis | Shutterstock
However, the airline has recently begun to introduce several initiatives aimed at helping incentivize passengers to stop in Jordan for some time rather than pass through on a connecting itinerary. This program, dubbed the Zuwar Stopover Program, will offer funding to those who spend time in the nation while connecting between flights.
Through this program, passengers can book guided tours of the Petra archaeological site and receive a free hotel stay by purchasing a qualifying flight. In this article, we will examine how you could use Royal Jordanian’s Zuwar program to your advantage.
Program specifics
Royal Jordanian’s role as the national carrier of the nation has been solidified since 1963, when it first began expanding under the guidance of King Hussein Bin Talal. When launching the carrier, the monarch was extremely clear as to what he believed its purpose would be, sharing the following words:
“I want our national carrier to be the ambassador of goodwill and the bridge across which we exchange culture, civilization, trade, technology, friendship and better understanding with the rest of the world.”
In the spirit of its original patron, Jordan’s current monarch, King Abdullah II, has helped build a carrier consisting of over 30 aircraft with more than 50 global destinations. The carrier has also been a member of the oneworld alliance since 2007, through which frequent fliers can earn status.
The program follows the original spirit of the airline’s foundation and a new vision for the country, which King Abdullah II has aimed to promote. The Zuwar Program, which translates to “visitor” in Arabic, offers passengers passing through Jordan the exclusive opportunity to visit dozens of sites across the country while passing through.
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Many of these are day tours, ranging from six to twelve hours, depending on how long a passenger’s layover may be. According to the carrier’s informational flyer for the program, these include the following tours and much more:
- The Dead Sea Tour
- Jerash Tour
- Madaba and Mount Nebo Tour
- Desert Castles Tour
- Umm Al-Rasas and Mkawer Tour
- Sahaba Tombs Tour
- Ajloun Tour
- Dana Tour
For those with an even smaller amount of time to spend in Jordan, a brief four-hour culinary experience tour is also available in the capital city. But the most fascinating of the many tours on offer are undoubtedly the carrier’s two organized overnight excursions, which are as follows:
- Petra Overnight Tour
- Madaba Overnight Tour
Those who choose the first of these two packages can spend a night near the legendary city of Petra, which the carrier claims is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Undoubtedly, Jordan’s most significant cultural landmark, this vast city, was carved into a rock face by the Nabataean people, who settled in the region over 2,000 years ago.
Photo: Royal Jordanian
The second of these overnight excursions allows one to visit Madaba, Mount Nebo, and the Dead Sea, which are of significant cultural importance. Travelers will marvel at the beauty of the Church of St. George the Baptist before swimming in the Dead Sea and spending a night in their hotel of choice.
Terms and conditions
Passengers considering the Zuwar stopover program should know the specific applicable terms and conditions. Not all passengers are eligible for the Zuwar program, and tickets must meet several conditions.
Eligible passengers for the Zuwar program must travel on a flight marketed and operated by Royal Jordanian (no codeshare connections). They must also be on a full-paid economy class ticket or business class fare, with all promotional fares and award tickets disqualified from the program.
Photo: TJDarmstad | Shutterstock
Royal Jordanian will offer to cover the expenses for a maximum of one night, and the connecting time for passengers between flights must be more than eight hours for economy class passengers and more than six for those in the carrier’s business class cabin. The time of the scheduled layover may not exceed six hours.
According to the airline’s website, passengers will be booked onto the first available connecting flight, and the carrier will not cover layover expenses for those on separate tickets or not actively holding a connecting ticket. If a passenger’s inbound flight is delayed, their expenses will still be covered.
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There are still some restrictions on where Royal Jordanian passengers in the Zuwar program can travel. The carrier will not cover layover expenses for travel entirely within the Middle East, except for flights to or from Basra. The airline will also not assume expenses on flights traveling between cities in the Middle East and those in North Africa.
Lastly, if the carrier does not cover passenger expenses, Zuwar trips can still be booked. According to the airline, the full-day trip to Petra costs $292 for a single passenger and $213 each if more than one group member books the tour.