Tel Aviv Sde Dov – May 2010

 

LANDSIDE

The terminal area was closed when I visited as it was a public holiday. From outside the gates a gulfstream could be seen and I suspect a few other aircraft may be seen on the way to the terminal. However you won’t get any views of the passenger aircraft from here.

 

To see the main ramp you need to go to the beach. The beach and boardwalk run straight past the airport boundary with excellent views of the runway and ramp. This is a very popular area with the locals for running, cycling, picnicking etc, and is very close to this end of town. Nothing was flying when I was there but it should be possible to get excellent views of the approach. I was very wary of security here, not sure how happy they are with taking photo’s of aircraft although there are some local spotters, so its possible you would be ok.

 

AIRSIDE

 

 

HOTELS

The airport is very close to the city and several hotels exist within walking distance. All you have to do is find your way to the beach and head towards the airport.

 

WHAT TO EXPECT

Tel Avivs downtown airport, served by Arkia and Israir with there ATR’s, mostly on flights to Eilat. Turning up on a bank holiday worked out well as 6 out of 8 ATR’s where parked up mid morning. Otherwise its fairly quiet so check timetables for best results. Alternatively you could quite happily spend the day on the beach and park areas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tel Aviv Ben Gurion – May 2010

 

LANDSIDE

Nothing from within the terminal. Departure ramp has views of some gates and most movements should be seen depending on the runways. This could attract attention from security though.

 

Security arriving and departing here is very tight. I had extensive questioning on arrival, especially as I was only visiting for 1 night and was extensively searched on leaving for about half an hour. This didn’t leave me very comfortable with spotting. I had been advised about a couple of spots on the perimeter that the local spotters use but chose not to do so. If you hire a car you can easily get around the perimeter but not much else can be seen. The Military have a large base here but don’t expect to get close. There is another terminal area that didnt appear to be in use. A few aircraft were parked up and could be seen by eye.

 

AIRSIDE

Good views from here of all the gates and distant views of some other areas. A window seat for departure can be beneficial depending on which way they go. Take a seat on the right and you may get some views of the military and Biz ramps. There was a couple of B707’s and a Gulfstream on Military but was unable to identify them.

 

HOTELS

None seen. About half an hour away from the city where you can get a hotel very close to the domestic airport.

 

WHAT TO EXPECT

Not particularly busy and not much that can’t be seen elsewhere. Most of the El Al fleet departs in the morning and I logged all of there B737’s. Arkias E195 and B737-200 4X-AOT made up the Israeli stuff. 3 Gulfstreams were on Biz and several old El Al B747’s were stored.