Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel's Minister of Transport and Intelligence, Yisrael Katz, inaugurated the Ilan and Assaf Ramon International Airport near Eilat, the first civilian airport to be built in Israel since the establishment of the State of Israel.
"The skies of Eilat and the Negev are opening today to competition and join the 'open skies' policy led by the Israeli government over the last ten years leading to competition and a dramatic reduction in airfares, as well as a huge increase in the number of passengers - 22 million passengers last year as opposed to 10 million passengers in 2009, and the target for this year is 25 million passengers, "said Minister Katz.