Article from BTNews 14 JANUARY 2019
Ramon Airport names the day
Commercial flights at Eilat’s new Ramon International Airport are due to start next month, on 4 February. The first phase will see domestic services by Arkia and Israir, with international flights to follow. A full operation is expected from 2 April. (Also see BTN 12 November 2018)
Israel transport minister Yisrael Katz has announced airport charges for all airlines operating from the new facility, which cost an estimated £360m, will initially be waived to encourage carriers to use it.
At the moment smaller aircraft land at Eilat Airport in the city centre while larger international carriers fly into Ovda, 60km north of Eilat. Ramon Airport, which will be officially inaugurated next Monday, 21 January, is 18km north of Eilat.
Israel’s airports authority is due to publish the domestic flights schedule for Ramon shortly. The first international carriers will be announced at a later date, but will include all those operating out of Ovda.
Ramon International is the first civilian airport built since the establishment of the State of Israel, with officials noting it incorporates the latest of safety standards, is fully computerised and boasts state-of-the-art security technology.
Ramon has a 3.6km runway to handle long-haul flights including transatlantic and at Katz’ insistence the number of aircraft parking positions was doubled to 60 to increase capacity after forecasts suggested passenger numbers would be higher than expected.
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