Charter airlines Arkia and Israir have reportedly been instructed to remove their planes from the Sde Dov Airport by the midnight deadline, in a signal the last-ditch efforts to stave off the closure of the small Tel Aviv airfield were unsuccessful.
The Kan public broadcaster says the owners of private planes were also instructed to clear Sde Dov in the coming hours.
The report comes after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held an emergency overnight meeting with newly appointed Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich in an effort to save the airport that is seen by some as vital for tourism to the southern city of Eilat.
Illustrative: Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv. (Yossi Zamir/Flash90)
Smotrich has proposed a plan to delay the closure until construction plans at the site are approved, which is expected to take three years. However, the passage of the legislation in the Knesset is expected to take no less than 48 hours, meaning Netanyahu isn’t likely to announce a last-minute change of plan.
Protests have been held in Eilat and other locations in recent weeks against the plan to shutter the Sde Dov airport on Monday, July 1, some 81 years after it was constructed.
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