EL AL | Atmosphere

Magazine I Airport News

Easy landings: meet Israel’s first ever VIP terminal, Fattal Terminal Ben Gurion Airport now has its very own luxury private terminal, where all pre and post flight procedures are carried out for those traveling through it: check-in, security checks, hand luggage screenings, passport control, etc. No more airport stress and headaches – just a beautiful lounge designed to make you feel at home \ By Nava Marton

Israelis and tourists, arrivals and departures

Anyone who’s ever enjoyed the services of Ben Gurion Airport’s Fattal Terminal knows how liberatingly timesaving and pampering it is. “We opened the terminal in 2019, under the impetus of David Fattal, chairman and owner of the Fattal Group, who recognized the airport’s need for a private terminal”, says Shani Shiferman, the terminal’s CEO. “At first, it was mostly used by passengers of private planes, but now, four years since its opening, there’s a definite pick-up in demand from passengers flying commercial as well, even more than we expected”. Easy to use and a (huge) timesaver The Fattal Terminal is Israel’s first private terminal. It offers VIP services to all its users, either entering or leaving the country, flying both private and commercial. Spread across 1,300 sqm, it includes an elegantly designed lounge, six private spaces with adjoining showers and resting areas, spacious meeting rooms, giant TV screens, a cigar lounge, three bedrooms with toilets and showers, a bar, a generously stocked buffet, check-in services, security checks, duty-free stores, private transportation to the

departing plane, and more. “More than NIS 18 million went into it – it’s a huge investment”, says Shiferman. “A lot of thought and planning went into creating something that would make people feel at home, pampered and cared for. Every detail has been carefully weighed, with zero compromises along the way”.

“The terminal has an area for arrivals and another for departures but the personalized services and overall experience is identical either way”, explains Shiferman, remarking on the fact that counterintuitively, though the pandemic hit the airline industry hard, it ended up being beneficial for the terminal, giving it wide

Photos: Asaf Pinchuk

22 ATMOSPHERE FEBRUARY 2023