Taba International Airport ( ar, مطار طابا الدولي) is an international airport located on the Sinai Plateau,
with an elevation of 2,470 ft,
and serves
Taba,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
. It has only one gate from which mainly charter flights operate.
History
The airport was constructed by
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 ...
in 1972 during its occupation of
Sinai following the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...
. Known as the Etzion Air Force Base,
it was demilitarized in 1979 with the
Egypt–Israel peace treaty
The Egypt–Israel peace treaty ( ar, معاهدة السلام المصرية الإسرائيلية, Mu`āhadat as-Salām al-Misrīyah al-'Isrā'īlīyah; he, הסכם השלום בין ישראל למצרים, ''Heskem HaShalom Bein Yisrael ...
. Then Israel's "Golden Eagle", "Phoenix", and "Smashing Parrot" squadrons moved out and the land there was restored to Egyptian control.
A condition of that peace treaty allows tourists to visit certain areas in Egypt, near Taba, for up to 14 days, without a visa. So from Israel and Jordan, travelers and tourists cross the border at Taba, in buses to visit resorts.
Egyptian taxis can take fares up to the Israel border but no further.
The airport is located 13 kilometers from
Taba and 30 kilometers from Taba Heights, near El Nakb, and adjacent with
Eilat, Israel. The airport was named El Nakb Airport. A new terminal building and
night lighting was added and the airport was then renamed Taba International Airport in November 2000.
The airport receives charter flights.
Traffic at the airport declined considerably. In 2014, the airport served 41,142 and in 2015, only 13,488 (a 67.2% decline).
In 2016, it was announced that
Thales Group
Thales Group () is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures electrical systems as well as devices and equipment for the aerospace, defence, transportation and security sectors. The company is headquartered in Paris' ...
would be modernizing Air Traffic Management at Taba International Airport.
In May 2018, it was announced that charter flights to the airport would resume, initially with flights from Poland and then from the Czech Republic.
Airlines and destinations
See also
*
Transport in Egypt
*
List of airports in Egypt
References
External links
OurAirports – Taba
{{authority control
Airports in Egypt
Plateaus of Egypt