2008 is expected to be an all-time-record year in which 10.5 million passengers will pass through Ben-Gurion airport.

2.6 million passengers will pass through Ben-Gurion airport in July and August 2008 aboard around 15,500 flights, a growth of about 10% over the same period last year. On peak days of passenger traffic, Ben-Gurion airport will serve more than 55,000 passengers (incoming and outgoing) aboard some 300 flights a day. From the beginning of the year until June 1, 2008, 4,251,066 passengers passed through Ben-Gurion airport, a growth of 13.8% in passenger traffic.

At the same time, as decided by IAA Director General Kobi Mor, Terminal 1 at Ben-Gurion airport will be opened on July 1, 2008 for international flights, and will operate until the end of the holiday season in late October. The Turkish charter company Sky Airlines (SHY), which will use Terminal 1, will operate around 25 flights a week to Antalya this summer.

All the necessary services will be available for Terminal 1 passengers: security check, flight check-in (including handing in luggage) and passport control. After checking in, passengers will be transferred to Terminal 3 where they can enjoy the duty-free services and wait for boarding. Terminal 1 will also be accessible for disabled passengers.

Ahead of operating Terminal 1 for international flights, an integrated dry run was conducted on June 16, 2008, simulating the departure of a SHY flight that will operate from Terminal 1. The dry run included all outgoing passenger procedures: security check, flight check-in, passport control, hand-luggage security check, loading the luggage, taking passengers down to buses and transferring them as far as the departure gates in Terminal 3. Around 100 extras playing the part of passengers took part in the dry run, as well as representatives of the ground-services companies, the Israel Police (Border Control) and relevant IAA personnel. During the dry run all the systems and the departing-passenger procedures were tested, including the luggage procedures, as well as operational processes in conjunction with scenarios / incidents and the response to them.

In June, the Security Department also conducted a security exercise during which various aspects of operating international flights out of Terminal 1 were reviewed.

Terminal 1, which, as mentioned, will operate during the summer of 2008, will be closed down at the end of October in order to get it ready for additional charter companies. During the closure the terminal will undergo a comprehensive renovation at a cost of approximately NIS 35 million. In addition, the IAA recently published tenders for running a sit-down burger-type restaurant and a café in the concourse opposite Terminal 1.

Israel Airports Authority Director General Kobi Mor said: "The IAA is ready to handle the increased passenger traffic expected during Ben-Gurion airport's peak season. The IAA has always considered customer service, alongside safety and security, as its top priority. Passengers checking in at Terminal 1 will enjoy the same high-standard services that Terminal 3 passengers do. Operating Terminal 1 on a limited scale during the summer of 2008 will serve as a kind of "pilot" enabling us to draw the necessary conclusions ahead of opening the terminal in the summer of 2009, by which time it will be fully ready to handle far more passengers."