Flying into Israel
Israel's main airport, the state of the art Ben Gurion Airport, is located near Tel Aviv.
Flights to Israel
- From the USA
- From Canada
- From the UK
- From France
- From Germany
- From Poland
- From Belgium
- From Italy
- From elsewhere in Europe
- From Australia
- From elsewhere
From the USA, El Al operate direct flights from New York (JFK and Newark) as well as from Los Angeles. Delta fly to Ben Gurion from Atlanta and New York JFK, Continental from Newark, and from next summer, US Airways will fly from Philadelphia. Direct flights from New York take about 11 hours, whilst those from Los Angeles take 17 hours.
This list of North American destinations is greatly increased by indirect flights which El Al offer from most other major cities in a code share agreement with American Airlines.
If you are flying from the USA, it is also worth considering flying with a European airline via a European city. This could take the same time if you have to switch planes, and will break up the journey. For example, Book bmi flights Low fares on many routes worldwide. Book now for competitive fares.
From Canada, El Al and Air Canada both operate non-stop flights from Toronto. It is also worth considering flying with a European airline via a European city. This could take the same time if you have to switch planes, and will break up the journey.
From the United Kingdom, El Al, British Airways, and bmi, as well as low cost airlines, Thomsonfly and Israir, fly from the London area. Thomsonfly also fly to Ben Gurion from Manchester, which, from 2009 is rumoured to also be served by Jet2.com who will also fly from Leeds/Bradford. Flights from the UK take approximately four to five hours.
From France, El Al and Air France, as well as low cost airlines, Arkia Israel Airlines, Corsairfly, and New Axis Airways, fly from the Paris area. El Al and New Axis also fly from Marseilles.
From Germany El Al, TUI Fly, and Israir fly from Munich. Lufthansa are expected to fly from Munich from 2009, although they already fly from Frankfurt, as do El Al. TUI Fly and Israir fly from the Berlin area, whilst TUI Fly also fly from Cologne/Bonn and Memmingen.
From Poland, LOT Airlines fly from Warsaw and Krakow, whilst El Al fly from Warsaw.
From Belgium, El Al and Brussels Airlines fly from Brussels.
From Italy, Milan and Rome flights are served by Alitalia, El Al, Eurofly, Israir, and Neos. Windjet also serve Rome, as well as Catania and Palermo, whilst Eurofly also serve Verona as do Neos, who also serve Bologna and Venice.
Fly to Israel from the rest of Europe
Flights from most other European countries and major cities are also available through both scheduled and low cost airlines. For a full list, see here.
No direct flights operate between Israel and Australia, although it is possible to fly via the Far East with El Al, from Beijing, Bangkok, Hong Kong, or Seoul. Korean Air also fly from Seoul.
Flights are also available to Ben Gurion from India, South Africa, South Korea, China, Hong Kong, and Russia.
A guide to Ben Gurion Airport
Most international flights come into the new Terminal 3 at Ben Gurion Airport. Car hire desks can be found in the main terminal, whilst the airport train station, connects to Tel Aviv, Haifa and, via the city of Modi'in, Jerusalem. The Tel Aviv and Haifa trains operate 24 hours a day, but not on the Sabbath.
Buses run between the airport and major cities in Israel whilst a regular shuttle bus runs to the Tel Aviv hotel strip. Taxis are readily available at the airport , as are Sheruts, or shared taxis which run to Jerusalem and Haifa amongst other places.
When departing through Ben Gurion Airport, due to tight security, passengers must arrive at least three hours before flights.
For more information, see the airport web site, here.
