Ben Ya'akov Airport

Ben Ya'akov Airport
Ben Ya'akov Airport
IATA: RPN – ICAO: LLIB RPN Location of airport in Israel
Summary
Airport type		Rosh Pina
Operator		922
Location		281
Coordinates		32°58′51.77″N 35°34′18.87″E
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	ft	m
05/23	3,190	972	Asphalt
15/33	3,655	1,114	Asphalt

Ben Ya'akov Airport (IATA: RPN, ICAO: LLIB), officially known as Rosh Pina Airport and sometimes called Mahanayim Airfield due to its proximity to Mahanayim, is an Israeli airport located in Rosh Pina. It handles domestic flights to Tel Aviv's Sde Dov Airport and occasionally serves the Israeli Air Force. This airport closed at 2011.

Ben Ya'akov Airport chart

History

The airport was built in 1943 during the British Mandate for Palestine. Mahanayim served the British army against Vichy France in Syria. In 1948 the airport was taken over by the IAF. In the 1950s, Arkia Israel Airlines began service to the airport, working from a hut which served as a passenger terminal and air traffic control tower. By 1968, a new terminal building had been constructed and three years later, in 1971, a fire station and control tower were erected. Following increased activity, the passenger terminal was further expanded in 1994.

Accidents

• On 19 April 1974 two Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters collided over the airport. One of the helicopters managed to land safely while the other helicopter crashed and caught fire. All eight IDF soldiers on board died.

• On 4 February 1997 two Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters took off from the airport on their way towards the Israeli Security Zone in southern Lebanon. The helicopters collided over She'ar Yashuv in northern Israel and crashed, killing all 73 IDF soldiers on board (see 1997 Israeli helicopter disaster).

Statistics

Since the beginning of the century the airport has seen a decreasing number of passengers (though this trend has stabilized since 2006). The drop off in passenger volume has been attributed to major upgrades undertaken on the road infrastructure to the northern periphery of Israel since the early 2000s, leading to a viable alternative to air service to the region.

Year	Total Domestic Passengers	Total Domestic Operations
1999	168,915	21,647
2000	123,595	18,137
2001	127,123	19,593
2002	108,016	17,926
2003	80,277	15,706
2004	54,764	14,995
2005	45,306	13,149
2006	16,110	11,592
2007	16,790	11,017
2008	19,766	9,703
2009	19,050	7,614
2010	23,067	10,275

• Source

External links

• Rosh Pina Airport
• Ayit Airways, Air Service from Sde Dove to Rosh Pina