The Israeli Government Approves the Construction of a New Airport in the Negev

SadaNews - Today, the Israeli government approved a decision to establish a new international civil airport in the "Tze'elim" area of the Negev, within the territories of 48, as a complementary airport to Ben Gurion Airport.

The decision came in response to a proposal submitted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Transportation and Road Safety Minister Miri Regev, and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, to amend a previous government decision regarding the establishment of complementary airports to Ben Gurion, to build the southern airport in Tze'elim instead of Nevatim.

It was also decided to expedite the planning procedures for the new airport in the south to reach the same planning level as that approved for Ramat David Airport in the north, aiming to establish two additional international civil airports without delay.

The move aims to respond to the expected increase in the number of travelers and to prevent an aviation sector crisis in the coming years, given the expectation that Ben Gurion Airport will reach its capacity limit of about 40 million passengers annually.

Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that one of the reasons for speeding up the establishment of the airport was to draw lessons from the recent war, as it became clear that relying on a single central air outlet in emergency situations is not feasible, in addition to the need to enhance readiness and the continuity of economic activity.

The Tze'elim Airport is expected to be an economic growth engine for the "Kiryat Gat" area and its surroundings, along with the towns in the south.