When the Japanese military advanced into Burma and Malaya in February 1942, KLM curtailed its route to Batavia and made Lydda the eastern terminus of the route. Imperial Airways, too, used Lydda as a refueling stop en route to India.ĭuring World War II, Imperial Airways and later British Overseas Airways Corporation continued the service to Lydda until the fall of France in June 1940. Holland's KLM, which had since 1933 stopped at Gaza en route to Batavia, Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia), moved the service to Lydda in 1937.

By that time, Lydda Airport boasted four fully operational concrete runways. The first continental European airline with a regular service to Lydda was LOT Polish Airlines since 4 April 1937. Subsequently, Misr flew via Lydda to Haifa and Baghdad. The first passenger service at the new airport was the Misr Airwork route Cairo-Lydda- Nicosia, inaugurated on 3 August 1935. It was built in 1934, largely at the urging of Airwork Services. The airport began during the British Mandate for Palestine as an airstrip of two unpaved runways on the outskirts of the town of Lydda (now Lod), near the Templer colony of Wilhelma. Sculpture of David Ben-Gurion at Ben Gurion Airport, named in his honour The building is currently the Terminal 1 building. History British Mandate period (1934–1948) Lod Airport, 1958. As Ben Gurion Airport once held standalone significance, it was regarded as a single point of failure, which led to the opening of Ramon Airport in 2019. The airport holds extreme strategic importance to Israel as it is one of the few convenient entry points into the country for most travellers. It is considered to be among the five best airports in the Middle East due to its passenger experience and its high level of security while it has been the target of several terrorist attacks, no attempt to hijack a plane departing from Ben Gurion Airport has ever succeeded. In 2019, Ben Gurion Airport handled 24.8 million passengers.

The airport serves as a hub for El Al, Israir Airlines, Arkia, and Sun d'Or, and is managed by the Israel Airports Authority. Until 1973, it was known as Lod Airport, whereafter it was renamed in honour of David Ben-Gurion (1886–1973), the first Israeli prime minister. It is located 45 kilometres (28 mi) to the northwest of Jerusalem and 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the southeast of Tel Aviv. Situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Lod, it is the busiest airport in the country. Source: Civil Aviation Authority of Israel īen Gurion International Airport ( IATA: TLV, ICAO: LLBG), commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym Natbag ( נתב״ג‎), is the main international airport of Israel.

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