On 24 July 2011 the Israeli cabinet approved the construction of a new airport in Timna Valley, north of Eilat, next to Be'er Ora. Ramon Airport opened in 2019, named in memory of the first Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon (who died in 2003) and his son Assaf Ramon (who died in 2009 when his F-16 fighter jet crashed over the West Bank). It has a runway, longer than the runway in Eilat, which allows large aircraft to land.