Ovda International Airport

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Ovda International Airport נמל התעופה עובדה

IATA: VDA - ICAO: LLOV
Summary
Airport type		Public/Military
Operator		IAA
Serves		Eilat
Elevation AMSL		1492 ft (445 m)
Coordinates		29°56′25″N, 34°56′9″E

Ovda International Airport (IATA: VDA, ICAO: LLOV), sometimes transliterated as Uvda, is the southern international airport of Israel, located about 60 km (40 miles) north of Eilat. Ovda was built as a military airport in 1980, when Israel vacated the Sinai Peninsula as part of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty, and the Israeli Air Force needed alternative airfields to its Sinai bases. Nowadays, the airport also serves commercial flights to and from Eilat, especially for large planes which cannot use the shorter runway at Eilat Airport.

1 History
2 Airlines and destinations
3 Facts and figures
4 References

[edit] History

The Israeli Airports Authority began operations from Ovda Air Force Base in 1982, after the signing of the peace treaty with Egypt. Previously all charter flights from Europe had landed at Etzion Airport, however this was one of three airports in the Sinai that were handed over to Egypt as part of the Camp David Accords. A civilian terminal was built at the airport which handled direct charter flights from Europe.

In 1988 a decision was made that international flights bringing tourists to Eilat would land at Ovda, instead of at Eilat. This allowed the operation of large, wide-bodied craft, such as the Boeing 747, which cannot operate from Eilat Airport. 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.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

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Ovda Airport is served by many international and domestic carriers, serving many destinations in Europe and Israel.

Arkia Israel Airlines (Haifa, Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion, Tel Aviv-Dov Hoz)
El Al (London-Heathrow, Tel Aviv)
Excel Airways
First Choice Airways
Israir (Haifa, Tel Aviv-Ben Gurion, Tel Aviv-Dov Hoz)
Arkefly (Amsterdam)
Transavia (Amsterdam)

[edit] Facts and figures

In 2005, the airport had:

746 international aircraft movements
82,479 international passenger movements

[edit] References

edit this box
Airports in Israel
International	Tel Aviv Ben Gurion \| Eilat Ovda Int'l
Domestic	Be'er Sheva \| Eilat \| Ein Yahav \| Haifa \| Herzliya \| Kiryat Shmona \| Masada Airfield \| Megiddo \| Mitzpe Ramon \| Pik \| Rosh Pina Ben Ya'aqov \| Tel Aviv Sde Dov \| Yotvata
Military	Ein Shemer \| Kfar Sirkin \| Hatserim \| Hatsor \| Nevatim \| Palmachim \| Ramat David \| Ramon \| Tel Nof
Defunct	Jerusalem Atarot