Eilat Airport
Eilat Airport שדה התעופה הישן של אילת مطار إيلات Namal HaTe'ufa Eilat | |||||||||||
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Focus city for |
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Elevation AMSL | 42 ft / 13 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 29°33′30″N 34°57′32″E / 29.55833°N 34.95889°E | ||||||||||
Website | iaa.gov.il | ||||||||||
Map | |||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Statistics (2014) | |||||||||||
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Source: Israel Airports Authority[1] |
Eilat Airport (
The airport was expected to cease operations on October 27, 2018, with the opening of the new Ramon Airport.[2] However, the opening of the new airport was delayed until January 21, 2019.[3][4][5]
Following the inauguration of Ramon Airport located approximately 20 km north of the city, Eilat Airport ceased operations on March 18, 2019.[6] The new, larger airport now handles all of Eilat's domestic and international flights as Uvda Airport also ceased receiving civilian traffic upon the opening of Ramon Airport.
History
Eilat Airport was established in 1949 by the
In the 1994
In August 2005, a Katyusha rocket fired from Jordan landed near a taxi traveling just 15 yards (14 m) from the airport perimeter fence.[10] On August 8, 2013, the Israeli Military instructed the airport to cancel all landings and departures after a security assessment. Militants in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula had fired rockets towards the city in recent years, but it was not immediately clear if that was the reason for the closure.[11]
Final years of service
During its latest period of service, Eilat Airport sustained peak loads concentrated into Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. On Thursdays and Sundays, flights were handled in a period of a few hours in the mornings and on Saturdays only the evening hours were used. Often there were days when 10,000 passengers on 120 flights were channeled through the 2,800 m2 terminal, which counted as one of the highest peak loads worldwide in this category.[12]
International passenger traffic decreased from magnitude of 20,000 a year in late 2000s to 5,000 a year in 2010s.[13] Most international traffic to Eilat was handled by Ovda Airport instead, while Eilat Airport handled about 1.5 million domestic passengers per year. A little more than half of them flew to or from Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv (which itself was closed several months after the closing of Eilat Airport), while the rest flew mostly to Ben Gurion Airport, with smaller numbers to Haifa Airport.
Although the airport was capable of handling
The small size of the airport is perhaps best illustrated with the fact that a Boeing 757 could not taxi past another aircraft to parking positions.
End of operations
Since the beginning of the 1990s, authorities in Eilat had considered relocating the airport out of the city limits.[15] There were numerous reasons behind this idea, primarily the fact that safety would be improved as, in its current location, there is the chance of aircraft crashing into buildings in the city.[12] Other reasons were the pure value of the land which the airport occupied, and the fact that the airport divided the city of Eilat into two parts with the hotels and tourist areas on one side, and the residential buildings on the other.[12]
On 24 July 2011 the Israeli cabinet approved the construction of a new airport in
The site after closure of the airport
Following the inauguration of
Statistics
Year | Total passengers | Total aircraft movements |
---|---|---|
2009 | 1,056,752 | 16,662 |
2010 | 1,293,254 | 18,298 |
2011 | 1,394,900 | 18,455 |
2012 | 1,448,423 | 18,248 |
2013 | 1,463,682 | 17,663 |
2014 | 1,424,098 | 18,966 |
References
- ^ a b "Facts and Figures". Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Israel Airports Authority. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
- ^ "Eilat's new International Airport On Its Way". IAA. Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
- ^ "New Eilat airport to open April 2018". Globes. 12 December 2017.
- ^ "Eilat Ramon Airport Guide". Retrieved July 1, 2017.
- ^ "צה"ל חושף: הגדר הגבוהה בעולם - ערב ערב באילת" (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2018-06-18.
- ^ "Eilat Airport to close down after 70 years".
- ^ "History". IAA. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
- ^ "Jordan, Israel agree to construction of Aqaba-Eilat airport". Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
- ^ "Eilat to maintain internal flight service". Israel Business Today. 2007-03-15. Archived from the original on 2012-10-21. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
- ^ "Six Suspects Sought in Jordan Missile Attack". Fox News. 2005-08-20. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
- ^ Israel closes Eilat airport over security concerns Miami Herald, Aug 8, 2013
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Israel's Holiday Airport Eilat". Flug Revue. Archived from the original on October 18, 2006. Retrieved 2007-05-01.
- ^ Eilat Airport Facts and Figures
- ^ Avi Krawitz (2006-07-03). "Eilat Airport completes NIS 5.5m. upgrade". Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2011-05-16. Retrieved 2007-05-31.
- ^ "Eilat Airport". ICEN. 1991-04-26. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
- ^ Israel Airports Authority website
- ^ "IDF Outlines Defense of Southern Airport, Braces for Islamic State-Linked Attack". Algemeiner.com. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
- ^ ynetnews.com - Eilat Airport to close down after 70 years 19 January 2019
- ^ "10 reasons to get excited about Israel's newest airport". 15 November 2017.
- ^ "Eilat's Redevelopment Presents International Tourism Investors a Once in a Lifetime Opportunity - USA". itrade.gov.il. Archived from the original on 2020-08-09.
- ^ "Eilat looks to develop former airport land". Globes. 30 January 2019.
- ^ "Sde Dov airport emptied, paving way for building of luxury high-rises". The Times of Israel.
External links
Media related to Eilat Airport at Wikimedia Commons
- Airport information for ETH / LLET at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
- Current weather for LLET at NOAA/NWS
- Accident history for ETH / LLET at Aviation Safety Network