Israel’s Transport Minister Israel Katz has ordered the immediate opening of a second airport near Eilat after US and European airlines banned flights to Israel over safety fears.
Uvda airport, just north of Eilat, has been ready to receive incoming international flights since midday Israel time in a bid to ease the concerns of airlines around the world.
The US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) issued a blanket ban on all US airlines flying to Israel on Tuesday, with several European airlines including Lufthansa, Italy’s Alitalia and Air France following suit, after Hamas rockets landed near Ben Gurion International airport.
Mr Katz said that the FAA ban was unreasonable and the suspension of air travel to Tel Aviv had “handed terror a prize.”
