Where is the city of Ovda located? Do not fly to the Israeli airport Uvda - this is hard trash and a waste of money

Distances from Ovda airport to cities and other locations in Israel (distance in km):

Egyptian border (Taba checkpoint) - 68.

Jordan border (Aqaba) - 50.

How to get from Ovda airport to Eilat.

Many tourists fly to Ovda from thousands of countries to visit the southern pearl of the Country - resort town Eilat with its 11 kilometers of beautiful beaches. What to do after parting with the aircraft? How to get from Ovda Airport to Eilat? There are several ways, choose the best one for you:

Public transport.

Regular buses from the famous Israeli company Egged run daily from the airport to the city. The most convenient experienced travelers called bus number 282. It departs approximately 40-45 minutes after the next plane lands. You can take your time and not be afraid of staying at the airport indefinitely.

The cost of the trip is 21.50 ILS, you will spend about an hour on the road. You can purchase a ticket from the driver when you board the bus. This flight will take you to both resort areas of Eilat (south and north), where your booked hotel is located.

Route No. 282 runs non-stop from Ovda airport to Central bus station in Eilat. From there the bus continues its journey to the hotel area on the coast, making stops near large hotels*. The final destination of the route is a stop at the Taba border crossing (Taba boarder crossing stop).

Schedule.

Departure times of bus No. 282 in both directions are synchronized with the arrival and departure schedule of international flights.

From Ovda Airport to Eilat/Taba : The bus leaves 60 minutes after the flight lands. Note! If the landing time of the plane changes, we change the departure time of the bus in accordance with the flight schedule with which No. 282 is synchronized.

From Eilat/Taba to Ovda Airport : The starting point of the route is the Taba Border Crossing stop (near the Taba checkpoint), from there the bus leaves 3.5 hours before the departure of the corresponding flight. Note! If airlines make changes to the schedule, the bus departure time from Taba and the collection time at the hotels area will change in accordance with the flight changes.

Important: On the Egged website, there is up-to-date information about the route and its existence. For clarification, you need to contact representatives of the bus company.

The second route is bus number 392, running on weekdays. It is somewhat less popular than the first one because it stops further away. After leaving the terminal, you still have to walk to the stop, not everyone is happy about this. Be careful and take into account the specifics of Israel.

Bus schedules may change before holidays! What to do if your trip falls on Israeli holidays? It is advisable to first check what is written on the airport website.

What else do you need to know about buses? The travel company sends buses to the airport to pick up our passengers. But if you are not one of them, do not be surprised that they will not want to “grab” you to the city.

Shuttle.

You can also be transported to Eilat by commercial transport - shuttles. These are buses increased comfort. It is clear that the ticket for them is somewhat more expensive. But the shuttle will take you not just to the resort area, but to a specific hotel, and will stop on request if you suddenly decide to get off at a certain place.

Taxi.

If you are afraid that there are not enough seats on the bus for everyone, and you want to get to Eilat quickly and with the greatest comfort, you should use the services of a taxi service. You will find offices of companies providing these services right in the airport building. The cost of the trip directly depends on the number seats in the car. Approximately, a trip to Eilat will cost you 350-500 ILS ($100-130). If you are not shy and know how to bargain, you can try to reduce the price a little; sometimes the driver makes concessions.

Transfer.

This is a special service: you apply for it online and don’t have to worry about anything else. Your driver will "catch" you as you exit the terminal - you won't get lost because he will be holding a sign with your name on it. This service is remarkable in that the price will be fixed, even if the entire route to Eilat is clogged with traffic jams and the driver spends twice as much time on this trip as he planned. You will pay exactly what was originally stated. Of course, a transfer to Eilat is an expensive service, but it is comfortable, including psychologically.

Car rent.

On the official website of Ovda Airport or while already there, you can rent a car for independent trip. But keep in mind that the airport is not a car rental station. That is, it is unlikely that you will be able to choose a car of a certain brand and comfort here: you need to take what is available. If you only care about four wheels that can drive, and don’t care much about the rest, choose a car from the catalogue. To rent it, you need to present your passport and driver's license.

Ovda Airport: how to get to the airport, official website, telephone numbers, flights, taxi to the airport, service and services of Eilat Airport.

On March 18, 2019, Ovda Airport closed and was replaced by the international airport named after. Ilana and Asaf Ramonov.

Ovda International Airport (sometimes Ovda) is the second most popular and largest airport in Israel. The airport is located 60 km from Eilat, the southernmost city of the country and also popular resort. The airport was originally built for the needs of the military, but later acquired civilian functions. Uvda successfully accommodates heavy aircraft that cannot land at Eilat airport due to the runway being too short.

The airport took its name from the operation that became the last during Israel's War of Independence. During Operation Uvda, the southern territories and the Eilat region were liberated.

Ovda Airport is named after the military operation of the same name that ended the Israeli War of Independence and brought freedom to the south of the country.

By 2017, Ovda Airport may return to serving only military aircraft. The basis for the cancellation of its civil functions will be the completion of the construction of the new Eilat International Airport.

Ovda Airport Terminal

Ovda Airport has one passenger terminal serving both domestic and international flights, mainly charter flights.

Services

The airport has retained the features of military specialization, which are most clearly manifested in a very narrow range of services. There are no ATMs in Ovda, so you should take care of cash in advance. There are two currency exchange points, the rate there is noticeably different from the city one. The airport lounge is small but comfortable, where you can relax and have a small snack. In Ovda you can buy souvenirs, various little things for the trip, Duty Free.

Tax free

Eilat is a duty-free zone, so prices for goods are shown without VAT. But if purchases were made in other areas of Israel, then you can apply for tax free by going to the counter marked VAT Refund.

How to get to the airport

Ovda (Israel) is an airport of international importance, located 65 km from the popular resort of Eilat. Beach season it lasts all year round, the temperature is always above +25°C, and the fact that you don’t need a visa to Israel attracts tourists even more. Ovda Airport is ready to meet them all.

Description

IATA code: VDA

Address: Ovda Airport, Be'er Sheva, Israel

Opening date: 1981

Website: http://www.iaa.gov.il/en-us/rashot/pages/default.aspx

Phone: +1 700 705 022

Initially, Uvda Airport served the military, but then switched to civilian flights, and now operates domestic and international flights. Interestingly, both names - Ovda and Uvda - are acceptable.

Additional Information! VDA is an airport that was built by the USA.

In Israel, Ovda is the second most important airport after Ben Gurion in Tel Aviv, but it is from here that you can easily reach neighboring countries and the Dead Sea, and flights from Russia here are sometimes much cheaper than to the capital of Israel.

The significance of this transport hub is enormous, but it is planned to soon close domestic flights, build new airport closer to the city, this means that Ovda’s role will become smaller.

About 10 flights are operated daily, tourist season- more. Charter flights also land here.

Tourists flying into VDA often head to Eilat or directly to the Jordanian border in the city of Aqaba. The border can only be crossed in three places, and the crossing between Eilat and Aqaba is considered the most convenient, but you just have to remember that you have to pay for it. There are also departures from Ovda airport sightseeing buses to the main attraction of Jordan - ancient city Petra, but there is a caveat: if you go to the country for only 1 day, the entrance fee to Petra will be more expensive, so it is recommended to stay in Jordan for at least 3 days.

Online flight board

The online display of all flights can be found on the official website - http://www.iaa.gov.il/en-US/airports/eilatn/Pages/Online-flight.aspx. The scoreboard displays the following information:

• name of the air carrier;
• flight number;
• departure/arrival airport;
• scheduled landing time;
• estimated time;
• terminal;
• flight status.

Note! There is currently* no opportunity to view the online scoreboard of Ovda Airport (Israel) in Russian.

How to get there

You can get to the city from VDA airport by:

• Bus number 282. Runs after every plane landing, the ride is about an hour. The bus is coming to the bus station in the city center, the final stop is Taba on the border with Egypt. The cost of the trip is approximately 25 shekels*, if you go straight back and forth, then about 45 shekels*. The bus runs daily.
• Bus No. 392. Performs 5 trips a day, Saturday is a day off, the route can be viewed on the map. The inconvenience is that it does not drive directly to the airport terminal, but stops on Highway No. 12.
• Shuttles are commercial minibuses. It’s better to book online; they usually go straight to the hotel with the desired stops. The cost of the trip is about 10 dollars*, the ride takes about an hour. Shuttles are often booked for transfer to the borders with Jordan and Egypt.
• Taxi. Israel is an expensive country, so this option cannot be called a budget option. Taxis can be ordered in advance, then tourists will be waited and greeted with a sign, but ordinary taxi drivers also often stand here looking for clients. The trip will take 50 minutes, cost from 100 dollars*. Taxi drivers also operate flights to the nearest borders.

If you need to get from the airport in Israel to the Dead Sea, then this cannot be done by direct flight; you will first have to take a bus to Eilat itself, and from there from the station take bus number 444, which goes to the sea in Ein Bokek and Neve Zohar. The cost is about 45 shekels*, the ride will take 2.5 hours, since the distance is quite long - about 250 km.

Additional Information! In Israel, Saturday is considered a day off; buses and even shuttles may not run on this day of the week, so you need to agree with the carrier in advance and ask them for details.

Parking

There are no parking spaces available on the airport premises. personal cars. The nearest parking lot is 1.5 km from the air complex, but it is spontaneous. The workers themselves get here by public transport, because it is more convenient and cheaper.

There is only one terminal, the airport itself is quite small. There is an arrival hall and a departure hall, where it is quite comfortable to wait for your flight. The waiting rooms are quite spacious and comfortable, there are places where you can recharge your phone, have a snack, exchange money and learn about the city.

The airfield is quite small: the runway is only 1,900 meters long; passengers walk to the planes, since there are no hoses or air transport here.

Services

The infrastructure is still not very developed for tourists, because the airport was once military. In the waiting rooms, passengers have access to:

• vending machines with snacks, tea, juice, coffee;
• small cafe;
• a relaxation room where you can stay with children.

On the territory of the airport there is a souvenir shop, a bookstore, and several boutiques.

WiFi

There is no Wi-Fi in Ovda. The closest access point is at a nearby hotel. The authorities are planning to conduct the Internet, but have not yet announced terms and dates.

Hotels in the transit zone

There is only a lounge in the terminal itself, but there are hotels nearby that you can walk to. The remaining facilities are located a few kilometers from the airport.

Nearest hotels:

Many of them are located within a radius of 1 km from the airport and have several stars, so the prices are quite high.

If you need to find a budget option, then you need to go to Eilat itself. You can find two- and three-star hotels for 4,000 rubles per night*. If the star rating of the hotel is not important, then hotels near the sea can be found for 1,200 rubles per day*. In this city you can even live in a hotel in the desert.

Which airlines fly

There are two types of flights:

• Regular, according to a schedule, several times a day or week.
• Charter, performed in holiday season, are usually ordered by a tour operator.

Regular ones include:

• Aeroflot. Operates flight Moscow - Eilat.
• Arkia. Israeli airline operates flights to Haifa, Tel Aviv.
• El Al. National Israeli carrier. Flies to London, Paris, Tel Aviv.
• IsrAir. Based in Tel Aviv, but from Ovda flies to Haifa, Moscow.
• Germania. There are flights to Berlin.
• Russia. Flies only to St. Petersburg.
• Vim-Avia. Destination - Moscow.
• Ryanair. The largest European low-cost airline, flies to Kaunas, Krakow, Bratislava, Budapest.

Charter flights are carried out by:

• Arkefly from TUI. There are flights to Amsterdam.
• Nordwind Airlines. Frequently operates flights to Krasnodar, Samara, Rostov-on-Don.
• First Choice Airways. Usually flies from Manchester.

Israeli companies (for example, Arkia) also operate charter flights.

U Russian airlines, in particular, Rossiya and Nordwind have sales and you can buy round-trip tickets from any city for less than 10 thousand rubles*.

Flying within the country is quite expensive; tourists prefer to travel from Eilat to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem by bus or rented car.

Eilat is an excellent resort with clear sea and great beaches. In the city you can go diving, look at historical sights, and if you get tired of Israel during your vacation, then there are two nearby interesting countries, which can be easily reached from this city.

Although VDA Airport in Israel has one floor and a short runway, it is capable of handling tens of thousands of passengers per year and up to 10 flights per day.

Despite the authorities’ plans to build an airport closer to the city, Ovda has not yet lost its importance, and at any moment it could again be converted to meet the needs of the military.

*Information and prices are current as of June 2018.

Has three international airports. Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Haifa Airport and the airport located near the resort town of Eilat - Ovda in Israel have international status.

In addition to international airports, Israel has a number of local airports. And although the country, by our standards, is quite small, the sky above Israel is densely intertwined with threads of local airlines transporting passengers from one end of the country to the other. Sde Dov Airport, located just north of Tel Aviv, Rosh Pina Airport near Tiberias, Atarot - which has its runways near Jerusalem, Kiryat Shmon on the border with Lebanon, Sdom Airport near Dead Sea and the local airport Mitzpe Ramon, which is located near Beer Sheva.

It must be said that passengers who fly to Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport on local airlines pass through the terminal, which is located quite far from the international flight terminal. The distance from the domestic terminal to the international terminal is four kilometers. All public transport, which travels throughout all cities of the country, departs precisely from the international terminal. The distance from the domestic flights terminal to the international flights terminal should not be intimidating, because there are shuttle buses between them. free buses, which will deliver the passenger to the desired point. These buses do not have a schedule, but this is not required, since the bus drives directly to the plane upon its arrival at the airport. The time between buses can range from 10 minutes to 30 minutes.

Second international airport in Israel it is Ovda (Ovda). Ovda Airport on the map of Israel is located in the southern part of the country, in the desert 60 kilometers from the resort city of Eilat. Ovda Airport in Israel mainly accepts charter flights.

Ovda in Israel is a former military airport and the airport closest to the Dead Sea. The airport in Israel Ovda has international status, but it is very small. This can also be seen in the photo. The airport has one waiting room, which can only be entered after passing through security. Several chairs for sitting and a toilet are available and up to the control. In the waiting room of Ovda Airport in Israel there is a cafe and a buffet, as well as Duty Free, where you can buy various souvenirs, small items, etc.

It must be said that Ovda Airport in Israel serves not only civilian flights; Israeli Air Force planes also land here. In general, Ovda Airport is a reserve airport for international Ben Gurion.

Ovda Airport in Israel has been converted from military base to a civilian airport is not because of a good life. The thing is that Eilat airport cannot accept large airliners, since the airport is located in the very center of the resort city, right next to the hotels where tourists relax and the local population lives.

For many years, the Israeli government has been talking about somehow solving the problem and removing the airport from Eilat. After all, this is dangerous for city residents. But the problem has not yet been solved. Relocating an airport requires a huge amount of money, and there are no such funds for this purpose yet.

The geographical location of Ovda Airport in Israel is a plateau surrounded by a chain of low mountains. The airport has two names - Ovda and Uvda. Ovda is most likely the Russian pronunciation of the name of the airport. After all, in Hebrew, vowels are not written, but rather implied.

As already mentioned, in Israel Ovda is a military airport, and therefore the airport infrastructure is poorly developed. The airport building has a rectangular, simple shape and has absolutely no architectural delights. It is not large and performs purely functional tasks. There is only one entrance to the airport, it is located from the open parking lot. Discussions about the reconstruction and repair of Ovda airport have been going on for a very long time, but they remain just that.

At the end of the 20th century, the Israeli government had interesting idea– to build a completely new modern transnational airport on the border of two cities of two countries – Israeli Eilat and Jordanian Ak-Kaba. This airport would have to serve two countries.

But the implementation of this idea was prevented by turbulent political troubles, and therefore this idea remained unrealized. As before, large airliners land at Uvda Airport, and small planes land at the airfield of Eilat Airport in the very center of Israel.

How is the waiting room at Uvda in Israel? The main part of the Uvda airport building is the hall. It is the same for Arrival and Departure. Its advantage is that it is quite spacious, and, importantly, not poorly equipped. In the smaller part of the building there is a hall where the passenger enters after passing control. There are a row of comfortable chairs, coffee machines, and counters where you can order freshly squeezed juice. Here in the hall there is a small rest room, made in the Bedouin style. At Ovda airport you can refresh yourself while waiting for the plane. There is a small cafe here. From the second, larger hall, passengers board, and passengers walk along the runway to the plane.

As at any international airport, you need to arrive in Ovda in advance, preferably three hours before the plane’s departure, so that the inspection and verification of documents by the relevant services can proceed calmly and without haste.

You can get to Ovda Airport in Israel from Eilat by bus or taxi. The journey to the airport by bus will take no more than an hour through lifeless, but nevertheless picturesque landscapes: you can see the famous Red Canyon and dry river beds. From the bus on the way to the airport, border patrols are clearly visible.

From Eilat to Ovda Airport there is regular bus 392, which departs from Eilat Central Station and travels along the route Eilat - Beer Sheva. This bus makes five trips a day. An alternative to the bus is a taxi or transfer, which can be booked in advance.

The airport in Israel Ovda receives mainly large planes, such as Boeing 747. The airport is an hour's drive from Eilat. Buses run to this resort town and stop at all major hotels in the city.

In winter, spring and autumn, along with the resorts of Egypt, trips to the most Southern City Israel - Eilat. Sometimes tourists' airline tickets list Ovda Airport as their point of arrival. What is it and where is this air harbor located? Why do other passengers flying to Southern Israel list Eilat Airport as their destination? In fact, this resort city on the Red Sea has two hubs. And in this article we will briefly talk about both. To find out where Ovda airport is located, why it is called that and how to get from it to the resorts, read the information below.

Story

This hub was built in 1980 under the Camp David Accords. Then Israel was forced to return to Egypt its territories that were illegally seized from it during the war. Since there were no large military airfields in the south of the country, Uvda was built. The UVDA hub name is often pronounced "Ovda". This was the name of the military operation in the 1947-1949 war, when the Jewish army took territory from the Arabs and established control over the lands along the northern coast of the Red Sea. At first, Ovda airport accepted only military aircraft. But with the development of air technology, the need arose to adopt heavy passenger airliners. The runway at Eilat City Airport was too short and not suitable for this. This is where the military air base came in handy.

Ovda Airport today

Only thirty years have passed since the construction of the hub. But Uvda over the years managed to occupy the second position in the country after Ben-Gurion in Tel Aviv. It receives all so-called heavy aircraft on international flights. Of course, the popularity of Eilat as a seaside resort played a big role in the “promotion” of the former military airfield. But the hub itself - its huge size, amenities, functionality - has earned itself fame among tourists. And the reviews confirm this. Although the functioning of a military base for civil aviation was planned as temporary (to relieve Eilat airport), Ovda switched over almost all flights arriving in Eilat. However, soon another hub will receive the airliners. In 2016, the construction of the new Eilat (eighteen kilometers north of the city) should be completed. And then Uvda will again be handed over to the military.

Where is the hub located and how to get to Eilat

Ovda Airport on the map is located sixty kilometers north of the resort center. To get to Eilat, there are several options. Of course, those vacationers who came on a package trip should not worry about anything. Representatives of the travel agency will meet them and take them straight to the hotel. But independent travelers must choose. The fastest, most trouble-free, but, alas, expensive option is a taxi. You need to bargain with the driver. Then you will be able to reduce the price to three hundred shekels (the usual fee is 350-500). The second option is by city bus number 282. The cars arrive just in time for the flight and depart forty-five minutes after the plane lands. There is also bus number 392, connecting the cities of Beer Sheva and Eilat. His cars run every hour. For those who do not have time for public transport, there is another option to go to Eilat. You can ask to see the tourist bus driver. But getting hooked on a transfer is luck, not a pattern. You shouldn't plan it.

Eilat air harbor diagram

Ovda Airport is a one-story building in which it is simply unthinkable to get lost. The only terminal accepts both international and domestic routes. During the high tourist season regular flights Numerous charters are being added. During this period, there are queues at check-in counters and border guard checkpoints. Uvda still displays the features of a former military airfield. This affects the “increased combat readiness” of the guards, as well as a narrower offer of various services. There are no ATMs here, and the rate offered at two currency exchange offices is noticeably different (and not to the advantage of tourists) from the city one. But the waiting room at the airport is quite comfortable, there are souvenir shops, newsstands, cafes, and duty-free.

What reviews say about the Uvda hub

Aeroflot planes from Sheremetyevo, Isra Air, Vim-Avia and Ural Airlines"from Domodedovo, "Russia" from St. Petersburg Pulkovo. During the tourist season, charter flights are added to these regular flights. These are airliners from Azur Air (flying from Domodedovo), Nordwind Airlines from St. Petersburg, Samara, Rostov-on-Don, Krasnodar and the capital Sheremetyevo. Reviews call Ovda Airport very functional. The services try to avoid crowds of people, so the departure and reception of passengers on the flight takes place quickly. Eilat is a duty free zone. But still, at Ovda Airport you can return VAT for goods purchased in other cities in Israel.