RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- The Palestinian national airline plans to resume weekly flights between Amman, Jordan and El-Arish, Egypt, a company official said Tuesday.

Captain Ziad al-Beda, director-general of Palestinian Airlines, said flights will operate twice weekly and could be increased depending on demand.

The flight will operate Wednesdays to ease the burden of Palestinians from Gaza who otherwise have to travel from the Rafah crossing to Cairo en route to Amman.

Al-Beda thanked Jordan and Egypt for their efforts in reactivating the route.

The official had said in early 2011 that the airline, which was established in 1994 and is owned entirely by the Palestinian Authority, was heavily in debt.

The tiny Palestinian Airlines has a fleet of three aircraft. It operates out of El-Arish and offers charter services to Saudi Arabia during the annual Muslim pilgrimage season.

The fleet was based at Yasser Arafat International Airport in Gaza until an Israeli ban on Palestinian commercial flights grounded planes and airstrikes damaged the airport in 2001.