Four years after winning a tender, Fattal Holdings (1998) Ltd. (TASE:FTAL) has begun construction of a VIP terminal at Ben Gurion Airport. The terminal, whose construction will cost NIS 18 million, is designed for delegation heads, heads of state, ambassadors, and owners of private planes.
The VIP terminal is scheduled to open at the end of the year at Terminal 1 in the section near the Masada area, which will be closed when the VIP terminal is opened. The new terminal will have 1,300 square meters and will contain a main waiting hall, a duty-free section, private suites, hosting rooms, meeting rooms, hotel lobby services, private stewards, and a cigars room. The guests arriving at the terminal will be transported to the airplane by car, since the terminal is relatively distant from the runways at Terminal 3.
The Fattal hotel chain has 170 hotels in 17 countries. Most of its business is now overseas. The company's revenue grew 69% to NIS 790.8 million in the first quarter of 2018.
The new terminal will be open to any passenger willing to pay for the privilege (no fee has been stated). At the same time, Fattal is in contact with airlines and credit card companies to provide them with hosting services for their customers. Many airlines active in the business sector, including United Airlines, do not have their own business lounge at Ben Gurion Airport. It can be assumed that these airlines will be able to use the new terminal, even though it is located at Terminal 1, which is used mainly for low-cost airlines, in one way or another.
Fattal Holdings business manager Assaf Fattal, who is responsible for opening the chain's new hotels, said, "The increase in the chain's activity and our expansion with more hotels in Israel and overseas led us to look for a challenging new project that would enable us to apply the knowledge and assets that we have acquired in large and difficult projects in Israel and overseas."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 27, 2018
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