Speaking ahead of his weekly cabinet meeting, in which the airport project was approved, Netanyahu said the airport would be located in Timna, northeast of Eilat, in the southern Aravah region of the Negev desert.
'It will be an alternative to Ben-Gurion international airport and serve as an additional international airport for the state of Israel. It will also be an alternative airport for Eilat,' he said.
'It will free up considerable land in Eilat, provide a solution for the expansion of Eilat and prevent noise and other pollution in the city.'
Israel has three international airports, but most tourists flying into the country arrive at the Ben Gurion airport near Tel Aviv. Read more >>
