It is the week before Rosh Hashanah and at Ben-Gurion International Airport, this signals the beginning of the Tishrei travel season which includes tens of thousands leaving this week for Uman and 770, as well as tens of thousands of Israelis leaving the country for Rosh Hashanah. The ‘holiday rush’ officially begins on Wednesday 25 Elul.

At the airport, a special team has been trained to begin operating this week in the hope of expediting security checks, passport continue and check-in.

Travelers are urged to arrive four hours before a flight due to the large number of travelers being processed this week. Persons are advised to take advantage of online early check-in where available via the Ben-Gurion website. One simply visits the page and clicks either Terminal 1 or Terminal 3 and continues the online registration.

Helping ease the process are the automatic gates for travelers with the new biometric passports. Passengers are permitted one 20kg. (44 LBS) suitcase along with hand luggage that does not weigh more than 8kg (17.6 LBS).

For those requiring it, there is a shul in Terminal 3. The terminal also has a few mehadrin certified eateries. There is also a free shuttle operating between Terminals 1 and 3.

Airports Authority officials predict some 1.7 million travelers will pass through the airport in Tishrei, which will represent an 8% increase from last year. Thursday 26 Elul is the big day, with 90,000 passengers booked to travel on 540 flights. Airport officials report they are ready for the large number of travelers but stress passengers must allocate the required time and arrive four hours before a flight.

On erev Yom Kippur, Tuesday, 10 Tishrei 5777, the airport will shut with the last arriving flight touching down at 1:30PM. The last takeoff will be at 1:55PM.

Airport services will resume on motzei Yom Kippur with the first arriving flight touching down at 10:30PM and first takeoff at 11:30PM.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)