Palestinians use Israeli airport in pilot program

Several dozen Palestinians flew to Cyprus on Monday from an airport in southern Israel as part of a pilot program to allow Palestinians from the occupied West Bank to fly abroad. The recently opened Ramon Airport is located near Israel's resort city of Eilat, about 230 kilometers south of Jerusalem.

Those in the West Bank wishing to fly abroad must travel to Jordan's capital of Amman through a crowded Israeli border crossing. The crossing isn't open 24 hours a day, forcing many travelers to pay to stay in a hotel nearby ahead of their flight. There are also travel costs and crossing fees that make the journey an added financial burden.

The airport authority said earlier this month that there would be twice weekly flights for Palestinians from Ramon to Antalya, Turkey, later in August and that flights to Istanbul would begin in September.