Israir has won a government tender to operate a permanent, year-round flight route connecting Eilat with central Israel, the Transportation Ministry and Civil Aviation Authority announced Monday, promising at least five daily flights and heavily subsidized fares for residents of Israel's southernmost city.
Under the tender's terms, the operator is required to run a minimum of four daily flights between Eilat and central Israel, two in the morning and two in the evening, but Israir committed in its bid to running at least five. Residents of Eilat and the Hevel Eilot region will be able to buy one-way tickets for 99 shekels, with seats reserved specifically for eligible local residents. The route will be subsidized by the state at a cost of roughly 10 million shekels a year, according to Ynet.
Israir must launch the new schedule within 45 days, and the contract runs for one year, meant to guarantee reliable, continuous service for residents, workers, students, and visitors rather than leaving the route dependent on shifting commercial demand. Eilat Mayor Eli Lankri welcomed the decision, saying guaranteed air continuity to and from Eilat is a basic condition for residents' access to healthcare, economic opportunity, education, and daily life, and that he expects the airline to restore public confidence in the city's flight network. Transportation Minister Miri Regev called Eilat a strategic city for tourism, employment, and commerce, saying its residents deserve a quality, accessible, and affordable transportation link to the center of the country.
But the announcement has run into a serious complication: Israir does not fly on Shabbat, a policy the airline has maintained since being acquired by businessman Rami Levy, and residents warn this will effectively cut Eilat off from the center of the country every weekend.
According to Israel Hayom, the problem is compounded this year by the Jewish calendar itself: Rosh Hashanah falls on a Friday, with the first day of the holiday landing on Saturday and the second day on Sunday, meaning Eilat could be without flights to the center for an extended stretch spanning Shabbat and the holiday. One resident, quoted anonymously, asked how Eilat residents are supposed to get home at the end of the first day of the holiday under those conditions. Others in the city noted that four or five daily flights may fall well short of actual demand, particularly during winter conference season and the busy summer and holiday travel periods, given that Eilat has no rail link and depends entirely on the frequently congested Route 90 highway as an alternative.
