Tel Aviv’s Sdeh Dov airport shut down over Eilat protests

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ordered Sdeh Dov airport in Tel Aviv finaly shut down on Sunday night after 80 years in the face of impassioned protests by the residents of Eilat, Israel’s southernmost town. The town will be served instead by a special facility at Ben Gurion international airport. The town claimed the small airport’s closure would fatally impact its tourist industry and deter medical and other professional personnel from providing regular services. Netanyahu decided to close Sdeh Dov on economic grounds.