Israel’s government has approved proposals to establish a complementary southern airport to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion, and the construction of another airport in the north of the country.
The complementary airport would be located near Ziklag, in the Negev region some 75km south of the main Israeli hub.
“This will be a tremendous lever for the development of the Negev,” says prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, adding that it will enhance employment, tourism, and industry.
He adds that the northern airport development is proposed for Ramat David.
“Only in this way can we provide a real response to the growing demand for tourists and air traffic,” says Netanyahu.
He adds that the north “is ahead” and that the southern proposal requires “pushing hard” to “close the gap”.
“These are two truly enormous growth engines for the state of Israel, both in the north and the south,” he adds. “Both will be build in parallel as quickly as possible.”
Over the course of last year Ben Gurion handled 19.1 million passengers and nearly 141,000 aircraft movements.
