Inaugural Flight to Cyprus for West Bank Palestinians Takes Off From Eilat’s Ramon Airport
Charters to Turkey canceled by Israel on short notice
A pilot program allowing Palestinians from the West Bank to fly out of Israel’s Ramon International Airport took off on Monday when a plane carrying 40 residents of Hebron and Bethlehem along with Israeli citizens departed for Larnaca in Cyprus.
The controversial plan was also to include charter flights on Monday headed for Antalya and Istanbul in Turkey, but Israeli officials canceled them a day earlier.
The 40 Palestinians from Hebron and Bethlehem traveled by bus to the remote airport, near the southern resort city of Eilat but almost three hours from the West Bank.
Amir Assi, a strategic consultant for Arkia Airlines, told The Media that he is happy to see the inaugural flight.
“This will open the door to many more flights with several destinations, including Istanbul, Antalya, Dubai, Sharm el-Sheikh,” says Assi.
The initial plan will focus on Palestinians in the southern West Bank, mainly in the cities of Hebron and Bethlehem, due to their relative proximity to the airport, he says.
His plan is to market the project as being close and affordable.
“The airport is about three hours away, at a cost of 75 shekels [$23] by bus to the airport. In addition, traveling through Ramon Airport is cheaper than other alternatives. All this is in the interest of the pocket of the Palestinian citizen.”
Palestinian passengers will pass through a security check upon leaving the West Bank on their way down south, in addition to the checks at the airport for all passengers.
Ramon Airport is located in the Negev Desert in southern Israel, 112 miles south of the West Bank.
The alternative for Palestinians is to cross by bus from the West Bank to Jordan, before boarding a flight in the country’s capital Amman.
This year as in years past, the King Hussein/Allenby Crossing between Jordan and the West Bank saw a massive number of travelers. Palestinians crossing the Allenby Bridge checkpoint first must go through several Israeli security checkpoints.
An entire call center is unable to respond to the volume of calls received from the Palestinians
Assi claims the response to the new route is overwhelming, saying he received thousands of inquiries from Palestinians about the initiative.
“An entire call center is unable to respond to the volume of calls received from the Palestinians. Our people in the West Bank are asking about this issue.”
We ask our people not to travel through Ramon Airport. We have not been consulted and it comes in the context of the global delusion that the Israeli occupation provides facilitation to the Palestinian people.
Moussa Rahal, spokesman for the Palestinian Transportation Ministry, told The Media Line that they oppose the idea.
“We ask our people not to travel through Ramon Airport. We have not been consulted and it comes in the context of the global delusion that the Israeli occupation provides facilitation to the Palestinian people,” he says.
Last month, PA Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh demanded the opening of al-Quds Airport in Qalandiya, which is located in the West Bank north of Jerusalem, and the removal of all obstacles in order to allow people and goods to move freely to and from the Palestinian territories.
The airport in east Jerusalem was used by Palestinians until the 1967 Six-Day War, when Israel captured the area and other Palestinian territories. Israel renamed it Atarot Airport but subsequently closed it due to violent disturbances nearby and because foreign companies refused to land there.
Despite the official objection to the initiative, some Palestinians see it as an opportunity to save time and money.
Natalie Marouf, a resident of the West Bank city of Ramallah, told The Media Line she will consider using Ramon Airport the next time she travels aboard.
“It is not wrong to use Ramon Airport if the Palestinians are allowed to use it. It will make traveling easier for us and gives other options,” she says.
Hisham Ahmed, also a resident of Ramallah, told The Media Line, “I prefer to travel directly to my destination and that will help in saving money as well. This is a positive thing. The issue is not about patriotism, this has to do with the issue of services.”
Israel’s main international access point, Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, isn’t available to the vast majority of Palestinians from the West Bank or Gaza. About 7,000 PA officials who carry VIP cards, and businesspeople with a special pass, are permitted to travel through Ben-Gurion Airport.
Assi says the program will expand to include Palestinian hajj pilgrims from the West Bank.
The pilot program operated a flight during the last hajj season, carrying 91 passengers, he says. “It was a successful experiment.”
“The plans are under discussion as we speak; it is ‘semi-approved,’ through [Royal] Jordanian Airlines, with a stopover in Amman,” he says.
