Fast Draw -trying to fix an old omission with a new one

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This situation hit Israel in the past but no one in the government did something real to change it. This is unbelievable that again and again Israel is not ready for the implications of a state of emergency on its civil aviation.

Until this moment Israel does not have an alternative airport to its main international airport, Ben Gurion.

Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv is Israel’s only international airport that can handle all types of aircraft.

Until 2010 , the Israeli air force’s (IAf) base in Uvda in southern Israel , served as an alternate but the situation changed when the Israeli civil aviation authority (CAA) declared that it can no longer be used as such. This because of a narrow runway and the lack of navigation aids.

A civil terminal in the base is used from time to time by charter flights bringing European tourists to Eilat, the Red sea resort located 40 km to the south.

The IAF was not ready to allow the use of its Nevatim base,  also in Southern Israel as an alternate to Ben- Gurion

In this weird situation the alternates for Ben Gurion will continue to be Larnaca  in Cyprus and Amman in Jordan.

This situation will remain until the new Eilat airport is operational the earliest in 2018.

Stupidity, ignorance, arrogance. Probably a mixture of all these “ingredients” causes today a heavy blow to the Israeli connection with the world.