Ovda Airport

Ovda Airport נְמַל הַתְּעוּפָה עֻבְדָּה‎ مطار عوفدا
IATA: VDA ICAO: LLOV VDA Location of airport in Israel
Summary
Airport type	Public/Military
Operator	Israel Airports Authority
Serves	Eilat, Israel
Elevation AMSL	1,492 ft / 445 m
Coordinates	29°56′25″N 34°56′9″E / 29.94028°N 34.93583°E / 29.94028; 34.93583
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 03L/21R 8,530 2,600 Asphalt 03R/21L 9,843 3,000 Asphalt
Statistics (2016)
Passengers 128,595 ^
Source: Israel Airports Authority

Ovda Airport (Hebrew: נְמַל הַתְּעוּפָה עֻבְדָּה‎, Nemal HaTe'ufa Uvda; Arabic: مطار عوفدا‎‎) (IATA: VDA, ICAO: LLOV) is a military and civilian airport in the Uvda region of southern Israel, about 60 km (37 mi) north of the city of Eilat. It is the country's second international airport.

Ovda was originally built as a military airport in 1980 following Israel's withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula as part of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty because the Israeli Air Force needed alternative airfields to its Sinai bases. Nowadays, in addition to Air Force traffic, the airport also serves as the destination for many commercial flights to Eilat, especially for large aircraft which cannot use the shorter runway and limited apron space at Eilat Airport.

The airport is expected to cease civilian flights once Eilat's new international airport in Timna opens.

Ovda Airport started out as an airbase for the Israeli Air Force, constructed by the United States as a replacement for Etzion Air Force Base. It opened in 1981. 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, 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.