Israel’s Eilat Ramon airport prepares to open

Israel plans to open its second international airport, Eilat Ramon, on Jan. 22. Situated at the southern tip of the country and serving the popular Red Sea resort of Eilat, the new airport will have an initial annual capacity of 2 million passengers, with expansion allowing that figure to rise to 4.2m by 2030 as demand increases. The opening will see Israeli domestic services from Tel Aviv and Haifa moving from the existing Eilat City airport, while foreign carriers will gradually switch from Ovda, a joint military and civil airfield. With a single 3,600 m (11,811 ft.) runway, Eilat Ramon will have nine apron parking spots for narrowbody or widebody aircraft, plus four spots for turboprops, which are typically used on domestic flights by Israir and Arkia. There will also be cargo facilities at the new airport, which lies 18 km from the city, compared to 60 km for Ovda. <br/>