Taba International Airport ( ar, مطار طابا الدولي) is an international airport located on the Sinai Plateau,
with an elevation of 2,470 ft,
and serves
Taba,
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. It has only one gate from which mainly charter flights operate.
History
The airport was constructed by
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
in 1972 during its occupation of
Sinai
Sinai commonly refers to:
* Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt
* Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God
Sinai may also refer to:
* Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...
following the
Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
. Known as the Etzion Air Force Base,
it was demilitarized in 1979 with the
Egypt–Israel peace treaty
The Egypt–Israel peace treaty ( ar, معاهدة السلام المصرية الإسرائيلية, Mu`āhadat as-Salām al-Misrīyah al-'Isrā'īlīyah; he, הסכם השלום בין ישראל למצרים, ''Heskem HaShalom Bein Yisrael ...
. Then Israel's "Golden Eagle", "Phoenix", and "Smashing Parrot" squadrons moved out and the land there was restored to Egyptian control.
A condition of that peace treaty allows tourists to visit certain areas in Egypt, near Taba, for up to 14 days, without a visa. So from Israel and Jordan, travelers and tourists cross the border at Taba, in buses to visit resorts.
Egyptian taxis can take fares up to the Israel border but no further.
The airport is located 13 kilometers from
Taba and 30 kilometers from Taba Heights, near El Nakb, and adjacent with
Eilat
Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan ...
, Israel. The airport was named El Nakb Airport. A new terminal building and
night lighting was added and the airport was then renamed Taba International Airport in November 2000.
The airport receives charter flights.
Traffic at the airport declined considerably. In 2014, the airport served 41,142 and in 2015, only 13,488 (a 67.2% decline).
In 2016, it was announced that
Thales Group
Thales Group () is a French multinational company that designs, develops and manufactures electrical systems as well as devices and equipment for the aerospace, defence, transportation and security sectors. The company is headquartered in Paris' ...
would be modernizing Air Traffic Management at Taba International Airport.
In May 2018, it was announced that charter flights to the airport would resume, initially with flights from Poland and then from the Czech Republic.
Airlines and destinations
See also
*
Transport in Egypt
Transport in Egypt is centered in Cairo and largely follows the pattern of settlement along the Nile. The Ministry of Transportation and other government bodies are responsible for transportation in Egypt, whether by sea, river, land or air.
With ...
*
List of airports in Egypt
This is a list of airports in Egypt, grouped by type and sorted by location.
__TOC__
Airports
See also
* Transport in Egypt
* List of airports by ICAO code: H#HE - Egypt
* Wikipedia: WikiProject Aviation/Airline destination lists: Africa ...
References
External links
OurAirports – Taba
{{authority control
Airports in Egypt
Plateaus of Egypt