Israel's Eilat airport closed permanently

JERUSALEM, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Eilat Airport, located in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat in southern Israel, was closed permanently on Monday.

The last flight, Israir Airlines flight number 444 to Tel Aviv in central Israel, took off from the Airport at 17:55 (1555 GMT), ending 70 years of activity at the Airport.

With the departure of the last flight, the Airport workers held a farewell ceremony where they folded the Israeli national flag and the Israel Airport Authority flag to symbolize the closing of the Airport.

Eilat Airport was used for domestic flights, mainly to Ben Gurion International Airport and to Tel Aviv's Sde Dov Airport, as well as international flights mainly for tourists who came from Europe during the winter months to Eilat in warm weather.

The closure of the Airport follows the opening two months ago of the Ramon International Airport, where most of the flights will operate. The new Airport is located about 19 kilometers north of Eilat.

Ovda Airport, located 65 kilometers north of Eilat, will continue to operate with limited activity.