World City Guide

Getting There By Air

Ben Gurion International Airport (TLV)
Tel: (03) 971 0000. Fax: (03) 971 1908.
Website: www.ben-gurion-airport.com/english/index.htm

Ben Gurion International Airport, also known as Tel Aviv Airport, is located near Lod on the main Tel Aviv–Jerusalem highway (Highway 1), about 25km (15 miles) southeast of Tel Aviv. It is Israel’s principal hub for international and domestic air traffic, served by over 47 airlines and with two terminals designed to handle up to 12 million passengers each year. A new terminal is currently being built.

Major airlines: Israel’s national airline is El Al (tel: (03) 971 6854 or 6111; website: www.elal.co.il). Other major carriers include Air Canada, Air France, Alitalia, British Airways, Continental Airlines, AiDelta, Iberia, KLM, Lufthansa, Qantas, SAS, Tower and Turkish Airlines. For understandable reasons, El Al’s airline security is extremely tight. Whether flying in or out of Israel, the check-in period is always at least three hours prior to departure. To date, all passengers are normally subject to one-to-one interview by security personnel but this is being phased out in favor of high-tech scanning machines.

Approximate flight times to Tel Aviv: From London is 4 hours 30 minutes; from New York is 11 hours; from Los Angeles is 17 hours; from Toronto is 10 hours 30 minutes and from Sydney is 14 hours.

Airport facilities: Facilities include 24-hour banks, restaurants, duty-free shops, general shops, post office and 24-hour tourist information. Avis, Budget, Eldan, Eurodollar, Europcar, Hertz and Thrifty all provide car hire services. It is worth noting that most airport services (including public transport) are reduced on Shabbat (approximately Friday 1700 to Saturday 1700).

Business facilities: First-class and business-class passengers of Israel’s El Al airline can use fax, Internet and computer facilities in the King David Lounge (tel: (03) 971 6892), while passengers of all airlines have access to the Jet Set Club lounge (tel: (03) 971 2302). All users of the airport may use the Solan lounge (tel: (03) 979 2323), with fax and other facilities for hire.

Arrival/departure tax: Included in airfare.

Transport to the city: The best-value method of transport for getting into Tel Aviv from the airport is a ‘sherut’. Available 24 hours a day from outside the arrivals hall, these shared taxis wait until they have about seven passengers before leaving and travel into Tel Aviv (journey time – 20 minutes) for about NIS26 per head. Bus 475, operated by the Egged National Bus Co-operative (tel: (03) 694 8888, English speaking; website: www.egged.co.il, Hebrew only), departs for the city from stop 2, outside the arrivals hall, 0530-2235 Sunday-Thursday, 0530-1605 Friday, 1955-2235 Saturday (every 15-20 minutes). It takes a route through the city that terminates at the Central Bus Station (journey time – 30-40 minutes). The fare to central Tel Aviv is NIS10.20. Bus 222, operated by United Tour Bus Company (tel: (03) 971 1711 or 972 1447), travels into Tel Aviv via the railway station and seafront hotels, terminating at the Dan Panorama Hotel. It runs hourly 0400-2400 Sunday to Thursday, 0400-2000 Friday and 1300-2400 Saturday, and costs NIS12.5-16. Taxis, available 24 hours a day, are located on the right outside the airport arrivals hall. Taxi fares to Tel Aviv are around NIS100. El Al passengers may also travel to the airline’s downtown terminal on the El Al airline bus.