Kiryat Shmona Airport

Kiryat Shmona Airport (Hebrew: שדה התעופה קריית שמונה) (IATA: KSW, ICAO: LLKS) is a public Israeli airport located 2 km east of the northern town of Kiryat Shmona. The airport is operated by Kiryat Shmona Travellers Inc.

Kiryat Shmona Airport שדה התעופה קריית שמונה‎
IATA: KSW ICAO: LLKS
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Disputed
Operator	Metailey Kiryat Shmona Inc.
Serves	Kiryat Shmona
Elevation AMSL	376 ft / 115 m
Coordinates	33°13′00.00″N 35°35′48.00″E
Map
KSW Show map of Northeast Israel KSW Show map of Israel
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 03/21 4,423 1,348 Asphalt

History

Its history was checkered based on lack of economic viability and local political differences. Arkia handled domestic flights until end of 2003,^[1][2] when it closed down due to a lack of passenger traffic.^[3] Now rights to fly a domestic route to and from the airport are held by Tamir Airways,^[4] while rights to operate the landing strip are owned by a separate company that is in a dispute with Tamir Airways. In 2006, the new airport terminal was opened. Tamir Airways announced that it would stop flying to Upper Galilee shortly before the Second Lebanon War broke out, but they changed their mind because they saw it as a "mission of national importance".^[5] Nevertheless, they ceased their (twice a day) flights to Sde Dov Airport on June 1, 2007. The next closest airport is Ben Ya'akov near Rosh Pina, 30 km south.

Kiryat Shmona Aerodrome chart

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  Kiryat Shemona and its airport in the background
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  Old (previous) terminal, permanently closed
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  Runway 21 with Naftali hills in the background