Background Eilat Airport was established in 1949, when most of what would later be Eilat was empty. As the city developed, much of it was built around the airport. In the 1994
Peace Agreement between Israel and Jordan it was decided that operations would be transferred from Eilat Airport to
Aqaba Airport in Jordan. The original plan was to rename Aqaba Airport as Aqaba–Eilat Peace International Airport. Removing the Eilat Airport from the city center was considered necessary for further development of Eilat, as it would allow, among other things, the construction of additional hotels close to the shoreline. It would also reduce
noise pollution. The project is part of a larger plan to develop the city, which includes mega-projects such as moving the
Port of Eilat to a location near the Jordanian border (for which removing the original airport is necessary), the
Railway to Eilat, and upgrading the
Arava Road.
Planning and construction The
South District Planning and Construction Committee gave its approval for the project in 2003, The first test flight and landing in the airport took place on September 5, 2017. In January 2019, Jordan objected to Israel's opening of the airport, arguing that operation of the airport threatens the kingdom's airspace.
Ovda Airport which was built as a military airbase and is still used for that purpose had become the main airport for
international flights to Southern Israel in the 2010s, as the facilities at Eilat Airport did not allow for the operation of larger and heavier planes. After Eilat Ramon Airport opened, Ovda was closed to civilian traffic. ==Facilities==