A New Free Waiting Lot at Ben Gurion Could Make Airport Pickups a Lot Easier

Starting today (Monday), the Israel Airports Authority has launched a dedicated waiting lot at Ben Gurion Airport, allowing drivers coming to pick up passengers to park free of charge for the first hour. The move is meant to reduce the widespread practice of waiting along the roadside within the airport grounds, which in recent years has become both a safety issue and a target for enforcement.

The lot is located on Israel Airports Authority Boulevard, in an area that was previously used as the authority’s headquarters parking lot, between Terminal 1 and Terminal 3. It is about a five-minute drive from Terminal 3, which currently handles all international and domestic flights.

Parking in the new lot is completely free for the first hour and does not require presenting any document. Anyone who stays longer than an hour will be charged according to the short-term parking rate, which stands at about 0.5 shekels per minute. In practice, each additional hour costs about 20 shekels, and every extra 15 minutes is charged at an additional 5 shekels. The maximum cost for 24 hours in the lot ranges between 90 and 100 shekels.

The background to the launch is a familiar and dangerous phenomenon: every day, drivers can be seen parked along the shoulder of the access road to Ben Gurion Airport, trying to avoid paying 22 shekels for an hour of parking in the lot next to Terminal 3. Some arrive too early, while others wait when a passenger’s flight is delayed, and waiting on the roadside puts other vehicles traveling through the area at risk.

The Israel Airports Authority reminds the public that stopping or waiting along the roads within the airport is prohibited by law and endangers traffic. Enforcement is carried out through a network of digital cameras deployed throughout Ben Gurion Airport, and drivers who violate the rules can expect a 500-shekel fine.

To get to the lot, drivers can search in the Waze navigation app and other navigation apps for the address "חניון המתנה לשעה - נמל תעופה בן גוריון".