The new airport in the Israeli resort of Eilat will open in October 2018, Interfax-Tourism reports, citing the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR).
“Today the project has reached its final stage: the control tower has already been built and is being completed "Construction of the terminal building is underway. According to preliminary information, Ramon Airport will become fully operational in October 2018," the statement reads.
Eilat receives tourists through two airports. Domestic flights arrive at the airport in the city center, while international flights arrive at Ovda Airport, located 60 km from the resort (this is where Russian tourists fly). Ovda is expected to handle approximately 400,000 passengers this year, double the number for the same period last year.
As ATOR clarifies, the new airport will primarily serve low-cost carriers and charter flights. It will waive ground handling fees for both budget and scheduled airlines in order to attract as many carriers as possible.
Shuttles will run to Eilat, and a short railway will be built in the future. Transfer times for tourists will be several times shorter, as the distance between Ramon and the resort is less than 20 km. According to Israeli aviation experts, it will take less than two weeks to relocate all international flights, including Russian ones, from Ovda to Ramon.
The total construction cost of Ramon Airport is estimated at 1.7 billion shekels (approximately 14.5 billion shekels). The airport, which will receive international status, is expected to handle four to six flights per hour. The passenger terminal will have a capacity of 2 million passengers per year. The new airport will be a scaled-down replica of Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. The Eilat facility is being built by companies that worked on the Tel Aviv airport project.
According to the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, Russian tourist flow to the country over the first 10 months of this year exceeded 336,000 travelers, which is 471,000 more than in the same period last year.
Source: trn-news.ru