Originally Posted by
RedChili
I Googled the distance from Isrotel Riviera Club (the hotel I stayed in during my last visit to Eilat), to ETH or ETM. To ETH it's 7 minutes, while to ETM it's 22 minutes, so it's 15 minutes difference.
In the other direction, Google claims that it's 5 minutes versus 40 minutes, but that's because Google seems to think that you need to drive via the Timna Park to get to Eilat.
Don't use Google for this. Use Waze, it is much more accurate in Israel. It is 25 minutes to central Eilat ( maybe 23-24 minutes to the hotels in the northeast.) And that is before even taking into account congestion, the checkpoint on route 90, the wait for taxies - since there will be more demand and not so much more fleet ( and taxies are crucial because buses in Israel are non-reliable and inexistent on weekends.
No matter how you look at it is 30-45 minutes more which makes the change unpalatable to an average Israeli. I am not saying they won't fly - but marginally less so, and Eilat will become more congested and even less nice place ( not that it is a decent resort today).