Coming2Israel.com - Ben Gurion International Airport

On this page you will find the following information:

• General information about the Ben Gurion Airport (BGA). • Access to the Airport by car. • Ben Gurion Terminal info. • Taxi Service to and from the Airport. • Limousine Service. • Car Rental Service. • Rail (Train) Service to and from the airport. • And over there, on the left hand side of this page, handy links to and about the BGA. Scroll down in order to read all the info!

Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International Airport.

Ben Gurion Airport is actually situated almost 20 km south and east of the city of Tel Aviv (and 60 km from from Israel’s Capital, Jerusalem).  Drive time from Tel Aviv, once you are on the Ayalon Highway 20 is approximately 25 to 40 minutes.  During rush hour times add another 10 to 20 minutes.  From Jerusalem plan on 45 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes.  Again, depending on traffic and weather conditions. The airport is operated by the Israeli Airports Authority, I.A.A., which also operates Sde Dov Airport in Tel Aviv.  Sde Dov is a mostly domestic flights airport with most of the flights main destination being the resort capital of Israel, Eilat.  Eilat is located in the most southern tip of Israel with it’s Beaches on the shores of The Red Sea.  The I.A.A is a government-owned corporation that manages all public airports and border crossings in Israel.

Main Access to Ben Gurion Airport

Main access to Ben Gurion airport is from the Highway 1 running between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.  The Airport has a designated exit from the highway, from both directions, of course,  leading to all sites on the airport grounds.  Train, bus and taxi service is also available to and from the airport.  See below for more details.

Ben Gurion Airport Terminals

The airport has two regularly operating terminals, Terminal 1 and Terminal 3. Terminal 2 was demolished to expand baggage and freight handling and Terminal 1 is mostly used for Domestic, charter and private flights.  Terminal 4 does exist but has been mostly unused, thus far, except for memorial ceremonial use. Perhaps the most notable use was after the space shuttle Columbia disaster in February 2003, the remains of Colonel Ilan Ramon were returned back home to Israel through Terminal 4. 

So, You’re Probably Coming to Israel Through Terminal 3

When you are coming to Israel, and you are flying here internationally, you will more than likely arrive and depart through Terminal 3 as it is the central hub for most, if not all, commercial international flights to and from Israel.

Getting To And From Ben Gurion Airport By Car

As mentioned above the airport has access by car from Highway 1 running between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.  Other modes of transport to and from the airport include taxi sherut “service” bus, bus and train service. Note that there are two entrances to the airport.  One from the Highway 1 and one, on the far east side of the airport from route 40 (the road to Petach Tikva and Lod. The gas station is actually located on the north west corner of the junction on Route 40.  It is located practically on the airport grounds but just outside the airport itself.  From the gas station you can drive directly to the eastern airport entrance.  Good to know if you need to fill up with gas before your return your rental car.   

Taxi Service From The Airport.

Taxi Service from the airport is available 24 hours a day.  All official taxis in Israel are white with black lettering.  Taxi cars can be anything from an Asian compact to full size German sedan or minibus or SUV.  The cars are usually clean and well maintained, but the drivers are typically not so much so.  Israeli taxi drivers have fully embraced “Casual Fridays” as their dress code for the full week.  And by casual, we mean casual to the maximum.  Do not expect khakis and a polo shirt.  Sandals, pants or jeans and a collared, but un-tucked shirt seem to be the ultimate in taxi driver fashion.  Still, don’t judge the book by its cover as most of them are good, hard working guys that are actually quite warm and friendly to our foreign visitors.  Don’t be afraid to ask the driver to open or close windows, turn on or off the A/C, and adjust the radio in the car, etc.  The Hebrew word for taxi is monit (pronounced moe-neet - plural moniot, pronounced moe- nee-ot).  Meters and radios are all easily visible inside and attached to the dashboard of the taxi.  See typical Israeli taxi photo here.  Why do we tell you this?  Well, let’s just say that there are some Israeli’s that long to be a taxi driver but just never had the chance.  And, in order to make up for their lost time, they tend to charge accordingly, if you know what we mean.  So, if you are taking a taxi from the airport, you should take from above these two points: 1. Always, always always, book a taxi from the designated taxi stands outside the terminal on the main access road.  They will be marked.  Unless you have pre-booked an arranged pick-up, or VIP service, do not accept service from someone within the terminal. 2. Check the expected rate to your destination with the person working at the station. As an example, the typical rate from the airport to Tel Aviv is around 130.00 to 170.00 NIS. During the night and the Sabbath and holidays rates could be a little higher. Other points to consider when taking a taxi from Ben Gurion Airport: • Most Israeli taxi drivers speak little or broken English so it might be a good idea to have the address and name of your destination with you in Hebrew as well to show the driver. • Know your destination and approximate travel time to it.  Also, if there are two or more hotels from the same company at your destination, make sure that you know and that the driver knows which one you would like to be taken to. • Most taxi’s do not accept credit cards for payment.  If they do, they will more than likely NOT accept American Express cards.  Check at the stand to be sure. Although we’ve heard of situations where once arriving to the destination, the card processing machine was not working leaving the visitor to scramble for cash.  Most hotels, especially the bigger ones will have a cash- point in or near their lobby, or are able to exchange foreign currency to local currency. • There are exchange service kiosks available at the airport, but as they have what we’ll call a captive audience, their rates are typically not as good as they would be at an exchange place in a city center.  Still, if you must exchange currency, only exchange to have enough for what you need to get to your destination.  As well, you should know that hotels may not be able to exchange all denominations of foreign currency.  The airport locations, and, as well as, most private money exchange places, should be able to handle just about any foreign currency for exchange.  Just about every cash exchange place will have their sign “Change” in English and their rates should be posted. • Tell the driver or dispatcher that you will need a receipt for your fare before you go.

Pre-booked, Limousine And VIP Service From Ben Gurion Airport

A visitor coming to Israel can also pre-book a taxi through your hotel or direct through the limousine companies servicing the airport.  And VIP service is available.  VIP service can include someone from the company meeting you at your gate when you arrive and walking you all the way through the airport, including, Passport Control, Baggage Claim and through Israeli Customs.  These options are not relatively cheap, as a full VIP service from Ben Gurion to Tel Aviv, as an example, can double or even triple the typical taxi fare. Still, if it is your first time coming to Israel, for your peace of mind, it may be very well worth it to you. Speaking of limousines, if you book a limousine, do not expect a stretch limo or a full-size American sedan.  Typically, limousine service in Israel is with a comfortable minibus.

Renting a Car At Ben Gurion Airport

The I.A.A. website currently lists 5 companies offering car rental services at the airport. They are: Avis Eldan Budget Hertz Sixt All of the rental offices are located on the Gallery Levels of the Greeters Hall. See our Ben Gurion Quick Links above for the BGA Terminal 3 Map.  We strongly recommend that you make you car rental reservations before you come to Israel.  As you have already read, over 13 million people came to Israel last year, and we are pretty sure that a few of them booked car rentals. And those that didn’t probably went without.

Trains To The Airport.

Depending on your schedule and location in the country, the train to the airport can be the most convenient and economical way to get to Ben Gurion.  For travelers without younger children and with luggage that you can manage by yourself (i.e. with one suitcase and, up to, a couple of carry-on items) we highly recommend taking the train.  There is no other cheaper or possibly faster way than the train to get to the airport. The train stops on the lowest level, directly beneath the Greeters hall and departure halls of terminal 3 - Level S.  Why S?  We have no idea.  Maybe for ‘Super!’  Anyway, when you arrive, walk off the train, take the elevator up to the Greeters hall and then another elevator to the Departure hall, and there you are.  What could be more simple than that?     If you’d like to read more information about taking the train to the airport, click below for our general train services web page.  Coming2Israel.com Taking the Train In Israel Primer Page: Taking The Train In Israel Follow the link to the Wikipedia page for more information about Ben Gurion Airport. Wikipedia Ben Gurion Airport The Israeli Airport Authority also has a pretty good English website available, but last we checked, not all links were active, or not all information is listed.  You can use our quick links at the top of this page for some direct access to their web-pages. For your information, we offer their full page to you here: I.A.A. Ben Gurion Website

Some Ben Gurion Airport Facts:

• Named after the first Prime Minster of Israel: David Ben Gurion (in 1973). • Most passengers handled in one year: 13,134,070 (2012) • Most flights handled in one year: 99,527 (2011) • First civilian transatlantic route:  New York City to Tel Aviv, TWA, in 1946.

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