Ovda Airport

"LLOV" redirects here. For the virus, see Lloviu virus.
Ovda Airport
נְמַל הַתְּעוּפָה עֻבְדָּה

IATA: VDA – ICAO: LLOV

VDA

Location of airport in Israel

Summary
Airport type Public/Military
Operator IAA
Serves Eilat, Israel
Elevation AMSL 1,492 ft / 445 m
Coordinates 29°56′25″N 34°56′9″E / 29.94028°N 34.93583°E / 29.94028; 34.93583
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
2R/20L 9,843 3,000 Asphalt
2L/20R 8,530 2,600 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passengers 94,585
Aircraft movements 821
Source: Israel Airports Authority[1]

Ovda Airport (Hebrew: נְמַל הַתְּעוּפָה עֻבְדָּה, Nemal HaTe'ufa Uvda; Arabic: مطار عوفدا‎) (IATA: VDA, ICAO: LLOV) is a military and civilian airport in Israel, located in the south of the country, about 60 km (37 mi) north of the city of Eilat. It is the country's second international airport.

Ovda was originally built as a military airport in 1980 following Israel's withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula as part of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty because the Israeli Air Force needed alternative airfields to its Sinai bases. Nowadays, the airport also serves as the destination for many commercial flights to Eilat, especially for large planes which cannot use the shorter runway at Eilat Airport, although it is still used by the air force.[2]

The airport is expected to cease civilian flights once Eilat's new international airport in Timna opens.[3]

History

Early history

Ovda Airport started out as an airbase for the Israeli Air Force, constructed by the United States 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.[4] 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.[4] A civilian terminal was built at the airport which handled direct charter flights from Europe.[4]

Recent history

In 1988 a decision was made that international flights bringing tourists to Eilat would land at Ovda, instead of at Eilat.[4] This allowed the operation of large, wide-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 747, which cannot operate from Eilat Airport.[4] Since then, most international flights land at Ovda instead of Eilat. The runway at Ovda also allows long range flights to take off for any European destination without the need to refuel.[4]

Today, the airport sees regular scheduled domestic services operated by Israir, Arkia Israel Airlines, and El Al Israel Airlines as well as regular charter services from across Europe. In 2005, the airport had 746 international aircraft movements and 82,479 international passenger movements.[5]

On January 1, 2009, the airport was closed to landing traffic during nighttime until further notice by the Ministry of Transport, due to the deteriorating condition of its runway. As such, there is currently no alternative landing strip in Israel during night time to the Ben Gurion International Airport for large aircraft, that will be forced to fly to Cyprus in case the Ben Gurion runways cannot accept the landing.[2]

On July 23, 2014 after the stoppage of international air traffic to Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport, due to rocket fire on Israeli cities from Gaza[6] Ovda Airport was opened to accept all International traffic.[7]

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Aeroflot Moscow-Sheremetyevo
Corendon Dutch Airlines Seasonal: Amsterdam
Enter Air Seasonal charter: Warsaw-Chopin
El Al Seasonal: Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Finnair Seasonal: Helsinki
Monarch AirlinesSeasonal: London-Luton[8]
Nordwind Airlines Seasonal charter: Rostov-on-Don[9]
Primera Air Seasonal: Helsinki, Kuopio, Paphos, Pori, Seinajoki[10]
Ryanair Seasonal: Bratislava (begins 30 October 2016), Budapest, Kaunas, Kraków
Ural Airlines Moscow-Domodedovo[11]
VIM Airlines Moscow-Domodedovo

Statistics

Total passengers and aircraft movements at Ovda Airport[1]
Year Total passengers Total aircraft movements
2009 104,340 1,474
2010 124,316 1,370
2011 139,353 1,466
2012 118,732 1,006
2013 121,395 1,074
2014 94,585 821

Ground transportation

Ovda Airport is served by a bus service operated by Egged. Bus 282 for 25 NIS connects Ovda airport directly to Eilat's central bus station and the hotel district in the city.[12] The Eilat Shuttle door to door shuttle service is coordinated for all arriving and departing flights, and costs $8 per person, from Ovda to Eilat, with other connections to Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Aqaba, and Taba.[13]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Facts and Figures". Israel Airports Authority. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 Egozi, Aryeh (January 2, 2009). "Emergency Landing". Yedioth Ahronoth. p. 11.
  3. ↑ "Eilat's new International Airport On Its Way". IAA. Retrieved 2007-05-01.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "History of Eilat Airport". Israel Airports Authority. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
  5. ↑ "Facts and Figures". Israel Airports Authority. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
  6. ↑ Sky News Team (22 July 2014). "Airlines Halt Israel Flights Amid Rocket Fire". Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  7. ↑ Staff (23 July 2014). "Israel set to open second int'l airport near Eilat in response to flight cancellations". Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  8. ↑ http://www.globes.co.il/en/article-monarch-airlines-to-launch-two-uk-israel-routes-1001060165
  9. ↑ "Из аэропорта Ростов-на-Дону открывается прямой рейс в израильский Эйлат". Rostov-on-Don Airport. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  10. ↑ http://airlineroute.net/2014/12/01/pf-ovd-w14/
  11. ↑ "Версия для печати Летим в Израиль на Красное море с «Уральскими авиалиниями»". JSC «Ural Airlines». Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  12. ↑ http://www.egged.co.il/Article-4917-Ovda-Airport-Transfer.aspx
  13. ↑ http://www.eilatshuttle.com

External links

Media related to Ovda Airport at Wikimedia Commons

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