Aviation News – The Israeli cabinet has greenlit the simultaneous development of two new international airports in the north and south to prevent a looming aviation crisis. This strategic move aims to decentralize air traffic and provide essential relief to Ben Gurion Airport, which is rapidly approaching its maximum operating capacity.
On February 15, 2026, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the cabinet finalized the selection of Ziklag in the northern Negev and Ramat David in the Galilee as the sites for these major hubs. The decision follows years of deliberation and intense debate between the Ministries of Finance and Transport over regional prioritization. By approving both projects in parallel, the government intends to ensure balanced economic growth across Israel’s peripheral regions while providing a necessary security redundancy for the nation’s primary gateway.
The Ziklag facility, located just 15 kilometers from the Gaza Strip, is engineered to handle approximately 10 million passengers annually, serving as a catalyst for tourism and employment in the south. Meanwhile, the expansion of the Ramat David site near the Lebanese border will leverage existing infrastructure to manage rising demand in the north. This dual-track development is specifically designed to bypass the 40-million-passenger ceiling at Ben Gurion, utilizing modern logistics and high-speed rail links to integrate these hubs into the national transport grid.
“The establishment of two complementary international airports is an urgent national, economic, and security need that will strengthen the periphery and create thousands of new jobs,” stated Transportation Minister Miri Regev following the cabinet vote.
This expansion signals a transformative era for Israeli infrastructure, potentially shifting the country’s economic center of gravity away from the crowded central corridor. As planning for Ziklag is accelerated to match the progress at Ramat David, the government expects the first phases of construction to begin shortly.