Israel
New international airport opens near southern Israeli resort of Eilat
New facility is named after astronaut Ilan Ramon and his fighter pilot son Asaf
January 21, 2019 17:08
New facility is named after astronaut Ilan Ramon and his fighter pilot son Asaf
January 21, 2019 17:08Eilat’s new Ilan and Asaf Ramon International Airport officially opened on Monday at Timna, 11 miles (18 kilometres) north of the Red Sea resort.
At a cost of £360 million, and an annual capacity of 4.5 million passengers, it is the first major international airport to be opened since Israel’s independence.
Named for the Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon, who died on the fatal Columbia space mission and his son Asaf, a fighter pilot who died in a training accident, the ceremonial inauguration of the airport was brought forward to last summer, so that Ilan Ramon’s widow Rona could be present. She has since died of cancer.
The airport replaces the Ovda air base 40 miles north of Eilat, where international flights currently land, and Eilat Airport in the city centre, where domestic flights arrive, thus reducing noise pollution and releasing land for development.
