Mofaz plans to allow Jordanian Airlines cargo planes

By RUTH EGLASH
Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz declared Wednesday that he wanted to immediately allow Royal Jordanian Airways the opportunity to operate cargo flights from Tel Aviv to Amman. "Mofaz was approached yesterday by representatives of the airline about allowing cargo flights between the two countries," Mofaz's spokeswoman Shiri Eden told The Jerusalem Post. "He decided that he wanted to solve the problem and immediately dispatched a ministry official to Jordan." Royal Jordanian Airways was first allowed to fly its passenger jets over Israeli airspace in March 1995 and daily flights between Amman and Ben Gurion International Airport started not long after that. The flying time between the two cities is only 14 minutes. Transport ministers in the past have refused to allow the airline to fly cargo planes mainly for security reasons and out of fear they would be used to smuggle explosive material into Israel, said Eden. Representatives of Royal Jordanian Airlines expressed to Mofaz the company's willingness to cooperate with Israel and cater to all its security concerns. Mofaz is confident that a solution will be found to the problem by next week, she said.