Ovda Airport is a

military air base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

and former joint-use civilian airport in the Uvda region of southern

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, about north of

Eilat Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan ...

. It was the country's second international airport. Ovda was originally built as a military airbase in 1980 following Israel's withdrawal from the

Sinai Peninsula The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a ...

as part of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty because the

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...

needed alternative airfields to its Sinai bases. The airport ceased handling civilian flights on 31 March 2019 thanks to the opening of

Ramon Airport Ramon Airport ( he, נמל התעופה רמון, Arabic: مطار رامون) , named after Ilan and Asaf Ramon and unofficially also known as Eilat-Ramon Airport, is an international airport located in the Timna Valley in southern Israel. Ramo ...

, which is located much closer to the city of Eilat than Ovda. In 2020 a plan was announced to establish ''Airpark,'' a large commercial aircraft storage facility at Ovda capable of storing hundreds of aircraft. The facility will be operated in association with IAI, a leading provider of aviation maintenance services. The decision was taken in light of the

impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Aviation The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the airline industry due to travel restrictions and a decimation in demand among travelers. Significant reductions in passenger numbers have resulted in flights being cancelled or planes ...

, but the storage facility is intended to operate even after aviation returns to normal. The fact that the co-located military facilities provide security as well as existing aircraft maintenance capabilities in the area were pointed to as favorable location factors in addition to the dry

desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

which limits corrosion.

History

Ovda Airport started out as an airbase for the

, constructed by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

as a replacement for Etzion Air Force Base. It opened in 1981. The Israeli Airports Authority began operations from Ovda Air Force Base in 1982, after the signing of the peace treaty with Egypt. Previously all charter flights from Europe had landed at Etzion, however this was one of three airports in the Sinai that were handed over to Egypt as part of the

Camp David Accords The Camp David Accords were a pair of political agreements signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on 17 September 1978, following twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David, the country retreat ...

. A civilian terminal was built at the airport which handled direct charter flights from Europe. In 1988 a decision was made that

international flight An international flight is a form of commercial flight within civil aviation where the departure and the arrival take place in different countries. Regular international passenger air service began in August 1919 with a flight going from Lond ...

s bringing tourists to Eilat would land at Ovda, instead of at Eilat. This allowed the operation of large, wide-body aircraft, such as the

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, ...

, which could not operate from

Eilat Airport Eilat Airport ( he, שְׂדֵה הַתְּעוּפָה אֵילַת, Namal HaTe'ufa Eilat; ar, مطار إيلات ), also known as J. Hozman Airport, was an airport located in Eilat, Israel. It was named after Arkia Airlines founder Yakov Ho ...

. Between the late 1980s and 2019 most international flights landed at Ovda instead of Eilat. The runway at Ovda also allowed long range flights to take off for any European destination without the need to refuel. In 2005, the airport had 746 international aircraft movements and 82,479 international passenger movements. On 23 July 2014 after the temporary stoppage of international air traffic to Tel Aviv

Ben Gurion Airport Ben Gurion International Airport, ; ar, مطار بن غوريون الدولي , commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Lod, it is the ...

, due to rocket fire on Israeli cities from Gaza, Ovda Airport was opened to accept all international traffic. It was the

diversion airport Diversion airports are airports capable of handling a particular ETOPS-rated aircraft during an emergency landing and whose flying distance at the point of emergency does not exceed the ETOPS diversion period for that aircraft. Any airport designa ...

for flights to Israel until replaced in that role by Eilat Ramon Airport. The airport ceased all civilian flights on March 31, 2019, now that

in the

Timna Valley The Timna Valley (תִּמְנָע, ) is located in southern Israel in the southwestern Arava/Arabah, approximately north of the Gulf of Aqaba and the city of Eilat. The area is rich in copper ore and has been mined since the 5th millenniu ...

has opened.

Airlines and destinations

All civilian traffic was transferred to

on 1 April 2019. Prior to its closure to civilian traffic, Ovda airport received mostly international flights from Europe operated as charter flights or by

low cost carrier A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...

s. Most domestic flights (to and from

Haifa Airport Haifa Airport ( he, נְמַל הַתְּעוּפָה חֵיפָה, ''Namal HaTe'ufa Haifa''; ar, مطار حيفا) , also known as U Michaeli Airport is a small international airport located in Haifa, Israel. It is located to the east of the ...

and - prior to its closure -

Sde Dov Airport Sde Dov Airport ( he, שדה דב, ''lit.'' Dov Field, ar, مطار سدي دوف), also known as Dov Hoz Airport ( he, נמל התעופה דב הוז, ''Nemal HaTe'ufa Dov Hoz'', ar, مطار دوف هوز) was an airport in Tel Aviv, Isra ...

) continued to use

as it was much more centrally located.

Statistics

References

External links

Official website
* {{authority control Airports in Israel Israeli Air Force bases Eilat Buildings and structures in Southern District (Israel) Airports established in 1981

History

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

See also

References

External links