Originally Posted by
ELAL
As long as you are somebody xhich is considered low risk, ELAL's profiling system is the easiest security.
And there are other airlines which have extra security for TLV flights (KLM for example).
While I must admit having not travelled TO TLV on El Al, I have seen enough check in areas of El Al in quite a lot of different airports.
You have armed guards, questioning desks, early check in times etc. Alone that would put some other passengers unease. Furthermore while some security people there are surely doing a curteous job, some might not, I guess it's just like everywhere, i.e. like flying in the US. Questioning is always a very sensitive topic, and when humans are working with other humans - at least from my experience to the US - this is not done always friendly or tactfully.
In TLV some of the staff was very nice, some others not (you can tell when dealing with half of a dozen different security people during your departure process there).
Just wanted to say that I doubt that any other airline (expect other israeli airlines of course) would have such high security levels, so why not just take an airline which is just "easier" in this regard. It can be that other airlines instaure a secondary security check, however I doubt that KLM conducts personal interviews with guarded policemen in the background. Some people may not bother, but for me it's unpleasant. I admit people must expect this when travelling to Israel, as they would have similar experiences in the country, however, and this is just my personal opinion, I try to keep security checks and profiling not more than necessary.
Sorry for going a little off topic, but I just wanted to elaborate it a little bit more. Other than that be assured that I understand the backgrounds why this is happening and that I spend some great time in Israel.