The new Palestinian airport, a powerful symbol of fledgling independence, is ready to open, the head of the Palestinian Civil Aviation Authority said Friday after an operations drill with Israeli officials.
Yasser Arafat International Airport in the southern Gaza Strip was to have opened last week as part of the Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement. However, Israel fell behind schedule when it held up Cabinet ratification of the accord by two weeks.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the airport would start operating next week, but has not set a date.
On Thursday, Israeli and Palestinian officials staged a four-hour drill, said Fayez Zeidan, head of the Palestinian Civil Aviation Authority.
About 100 Palestinian airport employees and 50 Israelis who will share security duties played the roles of passengers and airport personnel. For lack of a plane, the ``passengers'' arrived by bus.
Zeidan said the exercise covered arrival and departure procedures, including passport checks as well as customs and luggage inspection.
He said the airport was ready for operation. ``We just need to hear from the Israelis,'' Zeidan said.