Travel out of TLV [merged experience reports & tips]
Jun 8, 2014, 2:06 am
#17
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Maribor SLO
Programs: MM silver, Flying blue Platinum, A3 gold, Marriott platinum, IHG gold
Posts: 132
I just came yesterday from TLV. My flight was leaving at 6:20 am, I came to airport at 05:00 and still had time to buy something in duty free plus 15 mins for coffee in lounge 
Jun 8, 2014, 2:41 am
#18
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: London uk
Programs: *A Gold, BA Silver, Avis President, Hertz President circle
Posts: 2,804
1. *G does not help you at all. The "quick" security check are offered when:
- travelling only with hand luggage (after OLCI + printing boarding passes, go to the "departure gates", just when you are asked to present passport+boarding passes, there is a counter on the right side for security questioning).
- J/F (try to enter the regular queue and ask them to guide you to the J/F queue. in the case of flights leaving from the ground floor (LH,OS,US, if I remember correctly), it is on the right of all the regular queues).
Note that after the questioning, you go throw the security check point like everyone else, and there are no priority queues (usually not needed - the maximum I waited in these is 15 minutes).
- travelling only with hand luggage (after OLCI + printing boarding passes, go to the "departure gates", just when you are asked to present passport+boarding passes, there is a counter on the right side for security questioning).
- J/F (try to enter the regular queue and ask them to guide you to the J/F queue. in the case of flights leaving from the ground floor (LH,OS,US, if I remember correctly), it is on the right of all the regular queues).
Note that after the questioning, you go throw the security check point like everyone else, and there are no priority queues (usually not needed - the maximum I waited in these is 15 minutes).
Most people don't kow it, but there is a seperate security line for J/F or *G members.
You head to the front of the security line, going outside of the line, and right at the front there is a enteance for J/F passengers.
There is no more xraying of luggage at TLV prior to check-in (is done post check-in behind the scenes), so after questoning you had straight to the business class check-in counter.
To summarise as a *G you need much less time (I personally arrive 1:30 before departure).
Jun 8, 2014, 3:44 am
#19
Join Date: Dec 2011
Programs: United 1.9MM
Posts: 168
OP here. The correct answer, today at least, is 33 minutes - from entering main door to exiting passport control. Might have been less if my Syria and Lebanon stamps hadn't piqued their interest. The real test of patience is sitting in Dan lounge for a few hours with Whitney Houston being piped through.
PS Guess I still have boarding gate hassles to deal with; will update accordingly.
PS Guess I still have boarding gate hassles to deal with; will update accordingly.
Last edited by dgdevil; Jun 8, 2014 at 3:49 am Reason: postscript
Jun 8, 2014, 4:03 am
#20
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: London uk
Programs: *A Gold, BA Silver, Avis President, Hertz President circle
Posts: 2,804
OP here. The correct answer, today at least, is 33 minutes - from entering main door to exiting passport control. Might have been less if my Syria and Lebanon stamps hadn't piqued their interest. The real test of patience is sitting in Dan lounge for a few hours with Whitney Houston being piped through.
PS Guess I still have boarding gate hassles to deal with; will update accordingly.
PS Guess I still have boarding gate hassles to deal with; will update accordingly.
Jun 8, 2014, 4:17 am
#21
Join Date: Dec 2011
Programs: United 1.9MM
Posts: 168
Jun 8, 2014, 4:32 am
#22
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: London uk
Programs: *A Gold, BA Silver, Avis President, Hertz President circle
Posts: 2,804
Jun 8, 2014, 7:57 pm
#24
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: Hyatt Lifetime Globalist, SQ PPS Solitaire
Posts: 3,600
TLV has just recently changed their security protocol: In the old days you needed to arrive indeed 3 hours before departure which was a major pain in the ....
Now, they don't check your checked luggage in front of you anymore and just have a short interview while you line up for check-in.
The check of your carry-on luggage is still a lot more detailed than you what you would find in any other airport but even that check is now more efficient.
If you are checking in First/Biz/*G, 90 minutes into departure is now fine.
Now, they don't check your checked luggage in front of you anymore and just have a short interview while you line up for check-in.
The check of your carry-on luggage is still a lot more detailed than you what you would find in any other airport but even that check is now more efficient.
If you are checking in First/Biz/*G, 90 minutes into departure is now fine.
Apr 11, 2015, 8:23 pm
#25
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: UA 1K, AA 2MM, Bonvoy LT Plt, Mets fan
Posts: 5,073
Is LH always a mess at TLV?
Tonite's a bad night for travel ex-TLV, with the end of the holiday week, but LH was a total cluster-buck.
1 checkin desk for economy (plus 2 for bag drop) - vs 2 for business plus the HON desk. No gate-area PAs for FRA or MUC (operating at adjacent gates 10 mins apart), and minimal (at best) enforcement of priority boarding.
Both FRA and MUC ended up 15-20 mins late off the gate...
The only saving grace is that Mrs CO FF is so exhausted by the 5am departure that she is sleeping thru the screaming baby behind us in J!
1 checkin desk for economy (plus 2 for bag drop) - vs 2 for business plus the HON desk. No gate-area PAs for FRA or MUC (operating at adjacent gates 10 mins apart), and minimal (at best) enforcement of priority boarding.
Both FRA and MUC ended up 15-20 mins late off the gate...
The only saving grace is that Mrs CO FF is so exhausted by the 5am departure that she is sleeping thru the screaming baby behind us in J!
Apr 12, 2015, 1:28 am
#26
Join Date: Nov 2008
Programs: Disgruntled HON**, Indifferent EK Gold, skeptical BA Silver
Posts: 1,734
Should be enough, since the C/Cl and F/Cl desk take on people from Eco if they can and the bottleneck normally is the security interview which reduces the sequence and frequence of pax getting to check in.
The average sec interview takes longer than the check in process.
The average sec interview takes longer than the check in process.
Apr 16, 2015, 5:27 pm
#27
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Los Angeles
Programs: UA 1K, AA 2MM, Bonvoy LT Plt, Mets fan
Posts: 5,073
When the desk opened at 2am, there were 50+ people lined up -- 40 for economy (reg & bag drop) and 10 of us for Biz. As always, the guy with 2 luggage carts had a mess of a ticket, and it took 25 minutes for the first 10 people to be checked in for biz.
Apr 17, 2015, 9:50 am
#28
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 643
Brussels Airlines SN3290 TLV-BRU @ 15:55 departing
I appreciate that mornings at TLV are crazy, but what about the afternoon flights? For example, Brussels Airlines 3290 (TLV-BRU) departing TLV @ 3:55 p.m. (afternoon)? Would it make more sense to book the SN afternoon flight, so as to avoid the queue's and congestion at TLV?
Apr 18, 2015, 1:33 am
#29
Join Date: Aug 2005
Programs: UA*G(1K), PC Diamond Amb, Marriott Titanium, Accor Platinum
Posts: 4,672
I appreciate that mornings at TLV are crazy, but what about the afternoon flights? For example, Brussels Airlines 3290 (TLV-BRU) departing TLV @ 3:55 p.m. (afternoon)? Would it make more sense to book the SN afternoon flight, so as to avoid the queue's and congestion at TLV?
Everything else is pretty much a breeze -- and you can keep your dangerous liquids through security as well. Guess what: they simply check if it's an explosive or not instead of piling up all those potentially explosive bottles in the middle of the security area unchecked.
HTB.