After more than five years of construction delays, the Israel airport authority inaugurated Terminal 3, its lavish $1 billion international passenger facility.
The new terminal is connected by a new 20-km., 15-min. intercity railways line linking the terminal with the Tel Aviv area. The newly inaugurated rail link is projected to serve some 100,000 passengers a month.
Terminal 3 is located 3 km. from Terminal 1, the former international terminal, which now will serve only domestic flights.
Terminal 3 which is regarded as one of Israel's biggest-ever infrastructure projects, sprawls over 270,000 sq. m. and includes 133 check-in counters and 22 moving sidewalks.
In a ceremony to inaugurate the first El-Al flight, El Al's managing director Mr. Amos Shapira said that El Al invested us$7 millions in designing new ground facilities and upgraded its services to the passengers. According to Shapira the new facilities which were designed for the benefit of the public, serve as added value not only to the business class but also to the economy class passengers.
