Eilat Ilan and Assaf Ramon International Airport is scheduled to open next year, replacing current airports in Eilat (ETH) and Ovda (VDA). Domestic flights from Tel Aviv and Haifa, and budget and charter flights from Europe offered at the two airports are scheduled to reroute to the new structure after their close date, which is currently scheduled for April 2017, but which may be pushed back as late as January 2019. The new airport will serve as the southern international aviation gateway for the country, bringing travelers visiting Eilat, the Dead Sea and southern resorts. The airport is the first in Israel planned and constructed from the ground up. When complete, Eilat Ilan and Assaf Ramon Airport will serve approximately 1.8 million passengers per year and offer a variety of dining and duty-free shopping options. Situated in the Timna Valley and designed by leading Israeli architects, the airport will later expand to service 4 million passengers per year. The new airport will create space for further construction in Eilat’s city center, including new hotels and resorts, after the current airport is demolished, also cutting down on noise pollution in the city. The new airport is part of a larger project, which includes moving the Port of Eilat closer to the Jordanian border and upgrading other transportation infrastructures.