Airport honoring Ilan and Assaf Ramon ready for take off
The Ramon Airport is set to handle up to two million passengers a year upon opening with expansion allowing capacity of up to 4.2 million passengers by the year 2030.
By ILANIT CHERNICKUpdated: JANUARY 20, 2019 21:05Rona Ramon and Transportation and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz at the Ilan and Assaf Ramon Airport, under construction in the Timna Valley(photo credit: SIVAN FARAJ)
The Israel Police announced that it has completed preparations for the opening of the Ramon Airport and a police station on its premises, scheduled to take place on Monday morning.The airport was named for father and son, Ilan and Asaf Ramon, who were both killed in separate air disasters in 2003 and 2009, respectively.Israel’s first astronaut, Ilan perished in the 2003 Columbia Space Shuttle disaster while his son Asaf died six years later when his F-16 fighter jet crashed.The Ramon Airport is set to hold up to two million passengers a year, with expansion allowing a capacity of up to 4.2 million passengers by 2030. The airport is located 18 km north of Eilat.Once opened, all domestic flights to the old Eilat City Airport from Tel Aviv and Haifa will move to the new Eilat Ramon Airport. The airport will also begin handling low-cost and charter flights from Europe, which currently land in Ovda Airport, such as Ryanair, WizzAir, easyJet, Transavia, SAS, Finnair, Edelweiss, and Ural Airlines.The police station will operate under the command of an officer with the rank of superintendent. As part of ensuring the security of the area, they will also perform reconnaissance, operating according to airport and flight activity around the clock.“The opening of an international airport requires police deployment in a number of aspects, including the provision of public order, prevention of criminal offenses at the border crossing, and the provision of police services and services to the public on the island,” a police spokesperson said.According to commander of the Eilat region, Sami Marciano, Eilat police “are now ready to provide a police response to the operation of the field. We have brought equipment and technological means to the police,” he said.
