Lufthansa to start flights to Israeli Red Sea resort Eilat

Lufthansa said Wednesday it will launch four weekly flights to Eilat, the Red Sea resort which Israel hopes to turn into a winter vacation spot for foreign tourists. More than 175,000 foreign tourists flew into Ovda, a converted military airfield 60 km from Eilat, in the first five months of 2018, double the amount for all of 2017. Helping spur growth is a government grant of 60 euros per passenger for airlines starting routes to Eilat. Lufthansa said it would fly to Ovda from Frankfurt and Munich twice weekly starting Oct. 28. Eilat, Israel's southernmost city, borders Jordan and Egypt. It will later be served by the new Ramon International Airport which is expected to open in early 2019.<br/>