Ben Gurion International Airport (Hebrew: Nemal HaTe'ufa Ben Guryon, Arabic: (IATA: TLV, ICAO: LLBG)), also referred to by its Hebrew acronym Natbag,  is the largest and busiest airport in Israel, with 10,900,000 passengers in 2009. It was named the best airport in the Middle East by the ACI organisation.
The airport was initially known as "Wilhelma Airport" when it was built in 1936 in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine and later became known as RAF Station Lydda. When the State of Israel came into existence on Friday 14 May 1948, the airport's name was changed from Lydda to Lod. The airport was renamed Ben Gurion International Airport in 1973 to honour Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion.
The airport is located near the city of Lod, 15 km (9 mi) southeast of Tel Aviv. It is one of two commercial aviation airports in the Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area, the other being Sde Dov Airport-which is located in Tel Aviv proper and serves mainly domestic flights. Ben Gurion Airport is operated by the Israel Airports Authority, a government-owned corporation that manages all public airports and border crossings in the State of Israel.
Ben Gurion International Airport serves as the home base of El Al, Israir Airlines, Arkia Israel Airlines and Sun d'Or International Airlines. Terminal 3 is used for most international flights, while Terminal 1 is used for all domestic flights as well as Cimber Sterling flights to Copenhagen, Jet2.com flights to Manchester and easyJet flights to London (Luton), Geneva, and Basel. The airport has three runways and is used by commercial, private and military aircraft.
The airport is located near Highway 1, the main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv Highway and Highway 40. The airport is accessible by car or public bus. Israel Railways operates train service to and from the airport to several parts of the country and taxi stands are located outside the arrivals building. A popular transportation option is a share taxi van, known in Hebrew as a "monit sherut", going to Beer Sheva, Haifa and Jerusalem.
Ben Gurion International Airport is considered one of the world's most secure airports, with a security force that includes both police officers and IDF soldiers. Airport security guards operate both in uniform and undercover to maintain a high level of vigilance and detect any possible threats. The airport has been the target of several terrorist attacks, but no attempt to hijack a plane departing from Ben Gurion airport has succeeded.