(haipo) - Residents from Haifa and the surrounding area complain that there are no flights from the airport in the city since the Corona period. Even flights to nearby destinations, such as Greece and Cyprus, do not depart from the Haifa airport, not even flights to Eilat • The airport authority: "We are trying to convince companies to use the airport in Haifa, but there is no response."
"I wish the situation would change"
Since the Corona period, the airport in Haifa has been deserted. Although the airport is open, in practice it is not working - there are simply no flights.
At the open airport in Haifa, there are no takeoffs or landings, and that's even before we mentioned the "Duty Free" that was inaugurated in September 2017 in a festive and hopeful event. It is also closed and their death is due to inactivity. What happened that made airlines not interested in using the Haifa airport?
"The fleet of planes in Israel are intended for and prefer flights abroad," says the airport authority in a conversation with Haifa. They also say that the airport in Haifa is operating as usual and that any airline that wishes to fly from it is welcome to do so, but the "duty free" is not open. , since it is only intended for flights abroad (duty free) and there is currently no demand for commercial flights abroad.
"Regarding Eilat, at the moment the companies Arkia and Israel Air do not operate a flight route to the destination. "I wish the situation would change, they are invited at any time," says the Authority. "It is important to note that all airports in Israel are operating and regarding the flights and the choice of which airport to use, it has nothing to do with them they built. We do everything we can and encourage flights and try to convince companies to fly and use the airport in Haifa, but there is no response. Since we were not successful with national companies, we tried with companies from abroad, but so far there is no result either with them. The flights to Eilat have also decreased in Bulgaria, because it is more profitable to fly planes abroad."
If this is the case now, it is not clear what is expected next. Will the flight route be extended? Will the airport in Haifa become an international airport? Something that Transport Minister Michaeli does not rule out. Or will the dream of the mayor and deputy mayor be shattered and the airport will be completely closed? The decision on the matter has not yet been made.
The Ministry of Transportation has yet to comment on the matter.