Israel’s Economic Affairs Committee Plans New International Airport in South

(Jerusalem, Israel) Israel’s Economic Affairs Committee gave its final approval yesterday (Sun, Mar. 23) for a plan to build another (fourth) international airport in the south of the country, in the town of Nevatim, which is 40 miles from the Gaza border and adjacent to an Israeli military base in the Negev desert; a bill for the new airport is currently pending in parliament, according to Reuters.

Photo of El Al Israel planes on the tarmac at Ben Gurion International Airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel in March of 2020 courtesy of The Jerusalem Post.

The location of the proposed new airport is about 82 miles (132 km) from Tel Aviv, and the airport would take about seven years to build and handle up to 15 million passengers annually. The project is intended to help alleviate traffic at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport and bolster the economy in the country’s south by creating around 50,000 jobs, particularly from the nearby Bedouin community, per Reuters.

According to Reuters, Israel’s military and security establishment have opposed the project due to its proximity to the nearby military airbase.

Currently, there are three international airports operational in Israel, all of which are managed by the Israel Airports Authority. Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) serves as the main entrance and exit airport in and out of Israel, Ramon Airport (ETM) is the second largest airport, serving as the primary diversion airport for Ben Gurion, and the smaller Haifa Airport (HFA) also has a military base alongside its civilian terminal.

Ben Gurion is Israel’s main air gateway and with a capacity of 40 million passengers annually; Israel’s Economic Affairs Committee noted that it is nearing its limit, according to the committee, which cited data showing 80 million are expected to pass through the airport by 2050, according to Reuters.