Sde Dov Airport

In 1937, the mayor of Tel Aviv, Israel Rokach, asked the British mandate authorities for permission to create an airport in Palestine, promising to solve the transportation problem of Jews during the Arab revolt of 1936–39 when travelling from Tel Aviv through Arab territory to the main airport at Lydda, to catch Palestine Airways flights to Haifa, was difficult and dangerous. Works began on a plot of land north of the Yarkon River, Tel Aviv, and when completed in October 1938, the airport served regular flights to Haifa, with the option of flights to Beirut.[5] In 1940, the airport's name was changed to Sde Dov, in memory of Dov Hoz, one of the pioneers of Jewish aviation.[6] Sde Dov was abandoned after Palestine Airways ceased operations in August 1940, and the site was used as a British Army base until December 1947 when with British permission the runway was reopened by the Haganah.

In the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the airport served as a base to the Israeli Air Force. It was a central base, home to 21 aircraft at the time. The first military flight was made in December 1947, when Pinchas Ben Porat flew an RWD-13 to Beit Eshel to rescue an injured soldier.[7][8]

Sde Dov Airport Chart

An Arkia ATR-72-500 on final approach at Sde Dov

Following the 1948 war, the Arab orchards to the east of Tel Aviv were opened for development, and the military started using the Sde Dov airport on a regular basis. The airport regained its commercial operations, initially serving domestic flights, mostly to single customers, on Piper Cub aircraft. It later expanded operations to scheduled service on larger aircraft to various parts of Israel. As a result of the land availability, an additional, north–south, runway was built with no opposition. By 1960, land in Tel Aviv became scarce, and the municipality demanded that the airport be relocated northward, so as to allow residential development in its place. However, a committee that investigated the options for such a relocation in 1961 found no feasible site in proximity to Tel Aviv and suggested that flights be moved to Lod airport (now known as Ben Gurion Airport), and that road access from Tel Aviv to Lod be improved. This option, however, was blocked by the Israel Defense Forces.[5]

The government set up a second committee in 1968 which suggested that the old east–west runway be closed and the airport's area reduced, allowing for development to the east of the airport. They suggested that the old east-west runway be replaced by a new runway in the sea, adjacent to the beach. The old runway was closed, and a high density upper-middle income neighborhood was built to the east of the airport, although the new runway was never constructed due to the high cost involved.[5]

As the new residential area suffered from aircraft noise, residents joined in the demand that the airport be relocated. Despite this, the number of flights to the airport increased as the newly formed Israel Airports Authority strived to reduce congestion at Ben Gurion Airport by shifting all domestic turbo-prop flights to Sde Dov. Once again, the only feasible alternative proposed at this point was to build a runway in the sea and again, the high cost of this project meant that it never happened. This was a large issue in the area during the whole of the 1980s.[5]

The early 1990s saw a rapid rise in land values in the Tel Aviv area following the massive immigration wave from the former Soviet Union and the rapid economic growth fueled by Israel's subsequent hi-tech boom. This brought the issue of relocation back to light. Despite this, however, in 1997, Sde Dov was declared an International Airport for private flights.[9]

The issue remained unresolved until late 2006 when it was announced that the airport would be vacated to make way for residential redevelopment.[11] The plan to close the airport was strongly opposed by the Tel Aviv and Eilat municipalities, and its implementation was postponed numerous times until the airport finally closed on 30 June 2019.[2] By 31 July 2019, a Caterpillar 950M loader started the first phase of removing the runway and within days the runway was unrecognizable.