Dozens of mayors push for BG Airport's relocation
Over 30 mayors plan campaign calling to relocate Israel's international gateway which is 'a nuisance for millions of area's residents'
The mayors claim that the airport is a nuisance to the residents of the adjacent cities and is preventing potential urban development projects.
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"The Ben Gurion International Airport cannot stay where it is," Lod Mayor Meir Nitzan said.
In addition to being an environmental, safety and security hazard to all nearby cities, the airport does not yield any income to the City of Lod – under whose municipal jurisdiction is falls.
"We represent 3.5 million residents in centeral Israel, but the government just doesn’t care," Rosh HaAyin Mayor Moshe Sinai added,
"We are all asking for one thing: Let us sleep in peace. It doesn’t' make sense that flight paths are disturbing so many people. In any other part of the world, airports are located in outskirts of cities. The airport should be relocated to the Negev and connected by express train to the center."
The petition, signed by some 30 mayors, aims to promote the notion that a relocation plan will release an area of approximately 7,413 acres, which will enable urban development projects worth more than NIS 50 billion (roughly $13.4 billion).
Architect Israel Godovich, Tel Aviv's former chief architect is one of the driving forces behind the initiative.
Godovich told Yedioth Ahronoth that when he invited the mayors for a meeting "I thought two-three people would show up, but suddenly I saw them arriving one after the other, and within an hour, 30 of them came and the café turned into a town hall conference room. I couldn’t believe my own eyes."
"We all came to the meeting since we believe BG Airport must be relocated," said Nitzan. "Instead of providing a suitable solution, the State now plans to relocate Sde Dov Airport and unite it with Ben Gurion Airport, turning it into a massive nuisance for the area's residents."
Last week Godovich met with defense establishment officials. "The defense establishment also understands BG Airport is turning into a security hazard in the heart of the most densely populated area in Israel, and agreed with me it should be relocated immediately, but obviously this decision lies with the political system," he said.
The mayors decided to form a public council that would promote a campaign to relocate the airport; and Godovich presented a plan to that effect drafted by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki, who headed the restoration team of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.
"Isozaki visited Israel in order to asses the possibility of building an international airport at sea and concluded that it is essential," Godovich said.
But not all mayors agree the airport should be built at sea – most think it should be relocated to the Negev.
"We're getting ready to fight for the evacuation of BG Airport so that Tel Aviv could be free of this nuisance."
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