The Ilan and Assaf Ramon Airport in Timna, also known as Timna Airport, is now in the final stages of construction and is set to open in 2017.
Timna Airport, which is an international airport, is a unique national project, being the first airport to be built in Israel from start to finish, and it is destined to become the country's southern aerial gateway.
The new airport is located 19km north of Eilat, Israel’s southern-most city, and will regroup and control the activity of the two present southern airports of Eilat and Ovda. Eilat Airport which handles domestic flights from Tel Aviv and Haifa, and Ovda Airport, about 40 minutes drive north, which handles low-cost and charter flights from Europe, in the winter season.
The airport is located in the Timna Valley, and aside from its beautiful location, looks set to be one of the most beautiful airports ever seen.
The new Ramon Airport's named after Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first ever astronaut who died in the 2003 Colombia Disaster, and his son Asaf Ramon, who was killed a few years later in an aircraft accident. The terminal has been designed by leading Israeli architecture firm, Mann Shinar Architects, and is set to handle 2 million passengers a year upon opening, expanding to 4 million passengers a year later on.
The airport features a 3,100-meter runway suitable for the traffic of large commercial jets destined for and arriving from anywhere in Europe. The control tower is 45m high, in accordance with the most recent international standards. There will be 9 parking spaces for turboprop planes and 7 parking spaces for mid-sized and jumbo jets.
Operational and support areas will be established in the airport in an extensive single-level terminal which will be able to handle as many as 1.8 million passengers per year, providing high quality services throughout the 28,000 square meter area. In addition, duty free shops and a new power and infrastructure center for the management of the roadways and parking spaces are also being planned.
It is set to take care of all domestic traffic to Eilat, and the growing number of international low-cost flights from Europe, including airlines such a Ryanair and Monarch, who started flying to Ovda Airport in the 2015-2016 winter season.
