Originally Posted by
TT-Jones
If I have a 6am departure from TLV, is it really necessary to show up at the airport 3 hours prior to departure?
That would make a 2am hotel departure - ouch...
Is it really necessary? If you are flying Biz or FC, no -- you will get a shorter security line (no matter what airline you fly).
If you have an Israeli passport, it is also not necessary.
That said, I do have an Israeli passport and I do fly Biz when going to the States and I still show up 3 hours prior to the flight. TLV departures is a nice place to spend some time and I would rather not risk a problem.
My UIG (Used Italian Girlfriend) also has an Israeli passport, speaks perfect Hebrew, and refuses to show up more than 2 hours before her flight. She generally gets on board with no problem but about a year ago ran into an unusually long security line, did not board in time, and instead of a TLV-MXP direct flight found herself re-routed through Germany with a very long connection.