Ben Gurion International Airport (Hebrew: נְמַל הַתְּעוּפָה בֵּן גּוּרְיוֹן, Nemal HaTe'ūfa Ben Gurion, Arabic: مَطَار بِن غُورْيُون أَلدُّوَلِيّ Maṭār Bin Ghūrīūn ad-Duwaliyy) (IATA: TLV, ICAO: LLBG), also referred to by its Hebrew acronym Natbag (Hebrew: נתב"ג), is Israel's main international airport with thirteen million passengers served in 2011. It is one of two airports serving the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area. The other being Sde Dov Airport which provides primarily domestic flights. Ben Gurion International Airport serves as an international gateway to not only the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem metropolitan areas, but also to the majority of Israel. The airport serves as a hub for El Al, Israir Airlines, and Arkia Israel Airlines.
Ben Gurion airport is located on the outskirts of the city of Lod, 19 km (12 mi) southeast of Tel Aviv's city centre. Ben Gurion Airport is operated by the Israel Airports Authority, a government-owned corporation that manages all public airports and border crossings in Israel.
Ben Gurion airport is considered one of the world's most secure airports, with a security force that includes Israel Police officers, IDF and Israel Border Police soldiers. Airport security guards operate both in uniform and undercover to maintain a high level of vigilance and detect any possible threats. The airport has been the target of several terrorist attacks, but no attempt to hijack a plane departing from Ben Gurion airport has succeeded.
Read more about Ben Gurion International Airport: History, Administrative Buildings, Security Procedures, Passenger Rankings, Traffic Volume, Access, Airlines and Destinations, Accolades
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“Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me. Aren’t you?”
—Calder Willingham, screenwriter, Buck Henry, screenwriter, and Mike Nichols. Ben Braddock (Dustin Hoffman)
“In Israel, in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles.”
—David Ben Gurion (1886–1973)
“Airplanes are invariably scheduled to depart at such times as 7:54, 9:21 or 11:37. This extreme specificity has the effect on the novice of instilling in him the twin beliefs that he will be arriving at 10:08, 1:43 or 4:22, and that he should get to the airport on time. These beliefs are not only erroneous but actually unhealthy.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1950)