Ben Gurion International Airport's Terminal 3 (Ben Gurion 2000) began operating this afternoon on schedule and as planned. The first flight from Terminal 3 was an El Al flight to New York, departing at 1:15 pm. The first arrival at the terminal, at 2 pm, was an El Al flight from New York. This was also the first flight to use a telescopic boarding bridge.
16 El Al flights will leave Terminal 3 today for various destinations worldwide. A Swiss International Air Lines flight was the first foreign airline to arrive at Terminal 3, at 3 pm. The president of Swiss International Air Lines was on board.
21 flights are scheduled to depart from and 19 flights to arrive at Terminal 3 today. Regular flight schedules will resume tomorrow at 1 pm. Cargo and domestic flights will continue operating from the terminals they've been using until now. Later, Terminal 1 will be used solely for these flights.
Minister of Transport Meir Sheetrit officially inaugurated Terminal 3 today. He believes Israel's next airport will be built at Timna in the Negev within three years, replacing the old Eilat airport.
Terminal 3 cost $1 billion to build, paid from the Israel Airports Authority budget and with bank loans. Ben Gurion Airport will be able to handle 16 million passengers a year. At this stage it is intended to handle 10 million passengers a year. 7.7 million passengers are expected to pass through Ben Gurion Airport this year.
Terminal 3 is linked to Tel Aviv by rail. The airport has 4,800 parking spaces. Terminal 3 has 24 telescopic boarding bridges. It covers 1,700 dunam (425 acres), with 270,000 sq.m. of built space, including 15,000 sq.m. of duty free shops, and a 5,000-sq.m. commercial center for the general public.
Ben Gurion 2000 was completed four years late. Moshe Safdie and Associates designed the building.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on November 2, 2004