Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport

Hardly any airport in the world is associated so strongly with the word security as Ben Gurion. Anyone who has ever departed from Tel Aviv knows the questions at check-in, the checks at the access road and the feeling that nobody here goes unobserved. For spotters, that is exactly what makes the airport near Lod a special destination: here you meet El Al, Arkia and Israir on their home turf – but also an environment where a camera with a long telephoto lens stands out immediately.

From the airfield at Lydda to Israel’s gateway

The airport’s history begins in the 1930s. Under the British Mandate administration, an airfield was built near Lydda, today’s Lod, which served as RAF Station Lydda during World War II. In July 1948, Israeli troops took over the field, and in the same year El Al was founded as the national airline. For a long time, the airport was simply named after the city: Lod Airport, internationally Lydda Airport.

In 1973, it was named after David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister. In everyday speech, Israelis still often say “Natbag,” a Hebrew abbreviation. Historically, the airport is closely tied to immigration to Israel: hundreds of thousands came into the country through it. The best-known moment came in 1991 with Operation Solomon, in which more than 14,000 Ethiopian Jews were flown out in less than 36 hours – an El Al 747 landed with 1,088 people on board, still a record for a single aircraft.

Ben Gurion also made political history. In 1977, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat landed here – the first visit by an Arab head of state to Israel and the prelude to the later peace treaty.

The security concept: layers instead of a barrier

There is a concrete background to why security carries such weight at TLV. In 1972, the airport experienced two attacks in quick succession: the hijacking of a Sabena flight and, a few weeks later, the Lod Airport massacre, in which 26 people died. Since then, the principle has been to stop a threat as far as possible before it reaches the aircraft – long before similar approaches were discussed in Europe after September 11, 2001.

The concept works with several layers that take effect one after another:

The core of the approach is the questioning. Instead of treating all travelers the same, staff assess in conversation who is checked more closely. This is regarded internationally as very effective, but it is also controversial: civil rights organizations have challenged the profiling before Israel’s Supreme Court because it disproportionately affects Arab travelers. For you as a traveler, this mainly means: allow plenty of time, answer calmly and honestly – and feel free to say openly that you photograph aircraft if you are asked.

El Al: the airline with the Star of David

El Al is the reason many spotters travel to TLV at all. The airline was founded in November 1948 as the national airline; its first scheduled international flight went to Paris in July 1949. Today, Ben Gurion is both hub and headquarters. In 2025, according to airport statistics, about 6.9 million passengers flew with El Al – a good third of total volume. The codes are LY (IATA) and ELY (ICAO), and the callsign is simply “ELAL.”

The fleet is a purely Boeing world. On long-haul routes, the Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 fly, along with the older 777-200ER, which are being replaced by ordered 787-10s. On short- and medium-haul routes, 737-800 and 737-900ER do the work; for the period from 2028, El Al has ordered 737 MAX aircraft. The jumbo era is over – the 747s are retired.

The article Telling the Boeing 777 and 787 apart explains the difference between the widebody jets in detail. A special catch is the 787-9 in the 1960s-style retro livery.

Security in the air, too

El Al’s security thinking doesn’t end at the gate. Besides armed plainclothes security officers and doubly secured cockpit doors, the airline equipped parts of the fleet with systems against surface-to-air missiles – first with “Flight Guard,” later with the infrared defense system C-MUSIC from Elbit. From the outside, such systems are usually recognizable only as a small fairing on the fuselage; to the naked eye at the fence, they remain inconspicuous.

Shabbat: the quiet Saturday

A peculiarity you should know when planning: El Al generally doesn’t fly on Shabbat. Exceptions have only been made in extraordinary situations, for example after the war began in October 2023, when the Chief Rabbinate permitted flights to bring reservists home. For spotters, this means: from Friday evening to Saturday evening, a large part of the El Al fleet sits parked on the ground – during the week you see significantly more movements.

Three runways in three directions

Unlike Munich or Frankfurt with their parallel runways, Ben Gurion has three runways pointing in different directions. That makes the airport complex, but also varied: depending on wind and traffic situation, aircraft come from entirely different directions.

Runways and taxiways were rebuilt in 2014 so that the runways can be combined more flexibly. Which combination is running at any time depends on the wind, the time of day and air traffic control requirements. There are hardly any fixed rules you can memorize – so check live in a flight tracker beforehand which runways are used for takeoffs and landings. The article on flight tracking with ADS-B explains how; the basics of wind and runway use are in Understanding the runway direction in use at an airport.

Terminals and getting there

International traffic runs predominantly through Terminal 3, which opened in 2004 and offers about 40 gates across its four concourses. It was designed by the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill. Terminal 1, originally the main terminal, was revived in 2007 – at first only for domestic flights, and since 2015 also for low-cost airlines on international routes. The old Terminal 2 no longer exists; UPS is based on its site today. A Terminal 4 built in 1999 was never officially put into operation.

Getting there without a car is easy. On the lower level of Terminal 3 is an Israel Railways station; from there, trains run northwest toward Tel Aviv and Haifa and southeast toward Modi’in and Jerusalem. A free shuttle connects the terminals around the clock. Intercity bus lines to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, taxis and Highway 1 between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, on which the airport lies, are also available.

Who else lands at TLV

Besides El Al, two more Israeli airlines shape the airport. Israir and Arkia ranked second and third in the passenger statistics after El Al in 2025; both fly abroad as well as domestically, mainly south to Ramon Airport near Eilat. Sundor is also part of the picture, a subsidiary of El Al that operates charter and leisure flights with aircraft of its parent.

Among foreign airlines, Wizz Air was far ahead in 2025. Other important visitors included Aegean Airlines, flydubai, Etihad Airways and Lufthansa. From North America come widebody jets from United Airlines and Delta Air Lines, whose services have been suspended and resumed several times in recent years.

In cargo, Challenge Airlines is the largest operator of dedicated freighters, followed by DHL. UPS Airlines also flies to TLV. In third place in 2025 came El Al Cargo; belly cargo in the passenger jets comes on top.

Spotting at TLV: what works, what doesn’t

Here comes the most important part for you as a spotter. To our knowledge, Ben Gurion has no official observation deck and no designated spotter area like the ones you know from Munich or Hamburg. At the same time, the airport is one of the most heavily secured civilian facilities in the world, and the grounds are at times also used by military aircraft. A camera with a large telephoto lens at the fence stands out there faster than at any European airport.

That doesn’t mean photography is impossible in principle. It does mean you must expect checks and behave accordingly. The most important principles:

• Don’t photograph security installations: checkpoints, security personnel, fences with technology and military aircraft or facilities stay out of the frame. Why that is sensitive everywhere is explained in the article on critical infrastructure.
• Stay open when you are approached: calmly explain what you are doing, show your pictures when asked and follow instructions. Tips for such situations are in When security approaches you.
• Carry ID: you may be asked for your passport – carry it with you.
• No drones, no ladders: anything that looks like surveillance makes every check stricter.
• Clarify local rules beforehand: ask local spotters or in forums about the current situation before you stand at a fence.

What rights security personnel have regarding photos and when you must delete pictures differs from country to country. The article Do I have to delete photos? gives an overview; Countries with strict photography bans at airports summarizes the countries with particularly strict rules. General principles are in Is plane spotting legal?.

TLV compared

If you want to spot in the eastern Mediterranean, you will find more relaxed alternatives in the neighborhood. Larnaca Airport in Cyprus is only a short flight away and, with Mackenzie Beach, offers a well-known beach spot directly under the approach – Israeli airlines are regularly seen there. Athens Airport and Istanbul Airport are also big hubs of the region. Cairo Airport, on the other hand, shows that it can get even stricter – photography around that airport is particularly sensitive.

Conclusion

Ben Gurion is not an ordinary spotter airport. Three runways in three directions, a Boeing fleet with the Star of David on the tail and home airlines you hardly see anywhere else make it exciting for aviation fans. At the same time, a security concept born of bitter experience shapes everyday life and views every camera with a watchful eye.

Anyone traveling to TLV should therefore plan differently than in Europe: check the schedule at short notice, keep the security situation in view, take checks calmly and consistently keep security installations out of the frame. Then the visit becomes an experience that shouldn’t be missing from any logbook.