The year 2023 marks a decade of the Open Skies Agreements, and two years of the Abraham Agreements, two historical landmarks in the development of Israel’s aviation relations. Ben Gurion Airport is the only international airport that will over-pass the all-time record year numbers this year. From the beginning of this year to the end of May, more than 9.2 million passengers passed through Israel, an increase of 9% compared to the record year. By the end of the year, the number of passengers is expected to exceed the record number reached in 2019, before the corona virus, with about 25 million passengers.

Minister of Transportation and Road Safety, Brigadier General Miri Regev: “The continuation of the trend of growth in the number of vacationers abroad shows a strong economy and a positive national mood. The Abraham Agreements contributed to this welcome trend, which opened the skies to the Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, and made it possible to fly Over the skies of Saudi Arabia while significantly shortening the flight times. The line to Dubai has become one of the leading in the UAE, with about a million passengers a year. Since I took office, we have opened new direct airline routes to Turkey, Tokyo, Dublin, Nigeria, and Cape Town, and this summer 13 new airlines are landing here. I put all the factors to prepare and give the best service to the traveling public. I wish everyone a pleasant vacation and a pleasant flight”.

Israel Defense Forces approved all the requests for flights submitted by the airlines, with the aim of expanding the variety of flights and the competition for the variety of destinations. The leading destinations for the month of June are: Turkey, at the top of the table with 15% of all flights, Greece, USA, Italy and Cyprus.

The airport has prepared to accommodate passengers through the massive recruitment of employees, the reinforcement of passenger service and the increased presence of managers. As part of the evaluations, the “Family Patrol” and the port staff will make it easier for families with children to go through the security check and check-in, when one representative of the family can check in for everyone.

Technological screening measures were added in the security screening hall to shorten waiting times, including a fast-screening route for passengers with hand luggage only, from all airlines, who checked in from home.

New self-service stations (“kiosks”) have been installed in the passenger hall, which allow printing a destination tag (“bag tag”) for luggage and sending it quickly directly to the plane, by scanning the suitcase’s barcode, while significantly shortening the check-in process.

On the busiest days, about 100,000 passengers are expected to pass through the airport on about 600 flights, an average of take-off or landing every 2.5 minutes.

The airport has asked the flying public to arrive no more than 3 hours before the flight, to check in from home and to be patient. Before arriving, check which terminal the flight departs from.

The growth also continued in the scope of activity in Terminal 1, which serves mainly low-cost companies and charges reduced fees both from the airline and from the passengers themselves. Over 250,000 passengers depart from Terminal 1 per month, and it operates continuously 24/7, and operates a free shuttle service (“shuttle”) from Terminal 3 and the parking lots.