Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion International Airport has been judged "best airport in the Middle East" and the "world's second best airport" that handles 5-15 million passengers a year, says Arie Sommer, Israel Tourism Commissioner for North and South America.
The survey was conducted by the Geneva-based Airports Council International (ACI) whose Airport Service Quality Survey is based on the results from nearly 200,000 questionnaires completed by passengers in 2007. The survey captures the passenger's immediate appraisal of 34 airport service factors, from check-in through to departure at the gate.
The new Ben Gurion International Airport was inaugurated in 2003 and instead of being the customary construction of glass and steel has a unique design that emphasizes the cream and gold of Jerusalem limestone. "Passing through Ben Gurion Airport, whether arriving or departing," observed Sommer, "is an elegant and uplifting experience." The airport was designed to make security part of the process - rather than the addition of tables and x-ray machines in an existing space. For passengers, the most dramatic elements are the long moving floor ramps that transport departing and arriving passengers past each other, the displays of ancient mosaics discovered during the terminal's construction, and the vast circular departure lounge whose central fountain is surrounded by Le Corbusier club chairs.
The best large airport in the world, according to the survey, is Hong Kong, with Dallas-Fort Worth judged the best in the United States. Placed 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the Middle East were the airports of Doha (Qatar), Abu Dhabi and Muscat (Oman).
Ben Gurion International Airport is served by more than 70 airlines, with as many as 130 weekly nonstop flights connecting North America to Israel and vice versa - on Air Canada, Continental, Delta, El Al and Israir.
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