A 25% leap in passenger traffic during the first week of March 2006; February total in Eilat – 25.7% leap  in international traffic at Eilat and Ovda airports

A leap of 17% was registered in passenger traffic at Ben Gurion Airport during the winter months of January and February 2006, including the first week of March, as compared with the same period last year. The number of passengers passing through Ben Gurion Airport between of January 1 and March 7 2006 totaled more than 1.2 million, compared with one million passengers in the corresponding period last year.

The trend of growth in passenger traffic intensified every month: In January a rise of 13.6% was registered as compared with last January, in February the registered growth was18.7%, and in the first week of March an even greater leap of 25% in passenger traffic was registered, compared with the corresponding period last year.

Passenger traffic at Eilat and Ovda airports registered a growth of 10.2% in February 2006 as compared with February 2005, totaling 84,799 passengers on 1,472 flights. Domestic traffic in Eilat in February 2006 totaled 67,613 passengers on 1,236 flights, while international traffic at Eilat and Ovda airports totaled 17,186 passengers on 209 flights. Total domestic air traffic grew by 6.5%, while total international traffic at Eilat and Ovda rose by 27.5% in comparison with February 2005.