Breaking Update
Govt OKs Negev airport expansion
Israel's government approves a supplementary international airport in Sde Boker, Negev, a historic decision to boost aviation, create thousands of jobs.
Joint Announcement from the Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Transportation, and Ministry of Finance
The supplementary international airport will be established in Sde Boker in the Negev
Under the directive of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, next Sunday the government will bring to approval a resolution to determine the location of Israel’s first supplementary international airport, in Sde Boker in the Negev.
The decision was agreed upon by the Prime Minister at the end of a discussion he held with Transportation Minister Miri Regev, Deputy Minister Almog Cohen, Acting Director-General of the Prime Minister’s Office, and senior officials from the Ministries of Finance, Transportation, and Defense.
The establishment of a supplementary international airport is a national necessity given the continuous growth in the number of travelers to and from Israel. The decision to establish the first airport in the south is significant news for the Israeli aviation industry and even greater news for the entire Negev.
The airport is expected to create thousands of new jobs, strengthen the regional economy, and is part of a broad initiative led by the government to reduce gaps and effectively eliminate the concept of periphery.
Transportation Minister Maj. Gen. (res.) Miri Regev:
“This is a historic decision that strengthens Israel’s skies, the economy, and the Negev. A supplementary international airport in the south is a tremendous growth engine that will create employment, open new opportunities, and connect the Negev to Israel’s and the world’s centers of activity. From today, we are not talking about periphery, but about growth centers. This is a policy of action, not talk. We are already preparing so that the supplementary airport will be established and operate in the most efficient, secure, and advanced manner.”
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich:
“The establishment of a supplementary international airport in the Negev is a paramount economic, national, and strategic decision. This is a move that connects security resilience with economic growth, advanced infrastructure development with the practical strengthening of the periphery. We are investing in the Negev not as a slogan but as a policy: quality employment, transportation and air infrastructure, and full connection of the south to Israel’s and the world’s economic centers. The establishment of the airport in the south, alongside the airport in the north, is the way to build a future and truly eliminate gaps.”
Deputy Minister Almog Cohen:
“Less than seven kilometers from where the cursed white jeeps traveled during the massacre of October 7th, the State of Israel will establish an international airport that will provide quality and vital employment for the continued prosperity of the Negev, an airport that will bring with it a groundbreaking and reality-changing ecosystem. I thank Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for making this historic decision and Minister Miri Regev for the close partnership. I am overjoyed that after much effort, the plan is taking shape – and despite everything, the Negev will soar!”
