Israel plans new airport in south, an hour from Gaza border

According to a bill pending approval in parliament, the airport would be built in the town of Nevatim, about 65 kilometers - less than an hour's drive from the Gaza border and adjacent to a military airbase in the Negev desert that is home to F-35 fighter jets.

Jerusalem: Israel's Economic Affairs Committee on Sunday gave its final approval to a plan to build another international airport in the south of the country, not far from the area near the border with Gaza where Hamas carried out its Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.

According to a bill pending approval in parliament, the airport would be built in the town of Nevatim, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) - less than an hour's drive from the Gaza border and adjacent to a military airbase in the Negev desert that is home to F-35 fighter jets.

The airbase was targeted by Iranian missiles last October.

The new airport, some 132 kilometers from Tel Aviv, would take seven years to build and handle up to 15 million passengers annually, according to the bill before parliament.

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.

Israel's military and security establishment have opposed the project due to its proximity to the airbase.

Ben Gurion is Israel's main air gateway and with a capacity of 40 million passengers annually. It is nearing its limit, according to the committee, which cited data showing 80 million are expected to pass through the airport by 2050.

In 2019, Israel opened Ramon Airport near the Red Sea resort city of Eilat at Israel's southern tip, on the border with Jordan and Egypt. Prior to the war with Hamas, a number of foreign carriers such as Ryanair operated flights from Europe to Ramon.

At present, the airport is being used largely for domestic flights.

Most international carriers had stopped flying to Israel due to the war in Gaza, but many of them have now resumed flights.