Does anyone know what happened to the most human security of all?

Officials of the TSA - and Congress - would do well to experience this for themselves, take lessons learned (if that's possible!) to heart, then dispense with the intrusive, time consuming, costly policies now in place. But that would assume government officials are willing to change a culture, mindset and history long-steeped in taking action only after something bad happens, rather than instituting measures - like those of El Al - that might just prevent a catastrophe in the first place.

I went through this exact procedure back in 1982 while en route from Athens to Tel Aviv. In addition to the steps you outline, El Al personnel asked us the same questions two or three times. Maybe four, all the while making close observations for any tell-tale signs of nervous behavior, contradictory responses to questions, etc. Because of the airline's multi-layered, human-centered security procedures, we knew that the airline knew what it was doing and, as a result, we felt safe. And indeed we were.

I only had it as you said flying El Al once Newark to Ben Gurion and back, next JFK to Ben Gurion and back. That was about 10 years ago. I had gained a lot of weight as my passport was about 8 years old so they took a long time believing it was me. As I recall, we were escorted to a room while they opened our luggage in front of us and examined everything. Once they were satisfied we were personally escorted back to the gate. A little disconcerting but I never felt safer.

It was in 1972 when we made our first trip to Europe, landing in Rome. We got off the plane and followed the crowd. We ended up in a parking lot, no customs,no immigration, no passport control and from there just went on our way . Not what we expected but what did we know? Four days later we flew to Israel, following the terriorist attack at Lod International that had occurred before we had left home ( in fact, that was the first time I had heard the word "terrorist"). When we landed, very serious looking men boarded the plane and walked up and down the aisle looking at every passenger and attendant on board. The plane was surrounded by armed soldiers, guns pointed. Passsengers in transit first, those staying in Israel next. We were told to exit in groups of two, keep your hands at your side, don't even think of reaching for a Kleenex if you sneeze. Flying out of Israel we were segregated by sex, escorted to booths where we were patted down and frisked from head to toe. They removed my soap from its carrier and cut it in pieces examining it. We flew to Greece, flew back into Rome, trained out of Italy, back in, and flew home from Rome. We never got a single stamp in our passport from Italian authorities. This is by no means a complaint; I never felt safer than when in Israel. I have heard that TSA received training from the Israelis when it started up, but haven't seen anything like the effectiveness and professionalism we experienced so long ago at Lod.

I had heard Israel had best security procedures.. but didn't exactly know what they were.. thanks for posting.

I know the security we have sucks.

FWIW.....a lot of the airport security used in European airports like Schipol and Heathrow, are contracted to Israeli firms run by executives who used to work with El Al.

My one trip to Israel I remember that the required time for security was an additional hour -- so is everybody good with getting to the airport THREE hours before takeoff ??

Laura.. I have always had to be at the airport three hours before an international flight.. that's normal. So you arrive two hours before?

Times change. Security levels change. Procedures change.

I fly El Al a lot to Europe, because it's often my only option for non-stop open-jaw flights. If there's another option, I choose based mostly on price. This year I flew to Europe 3 times, El Al, Air France (horrible in-flight service) and Lufthansa. Last year I flew Alitalia and Turkish Air (changing planes in Istanbul).

I think the reason you see the same Israeli security personnel over and over is because [1] Israeli airlines hire only Israelis (and who have served in the Army and probably worked airport security in Israel) and [2] because as a small airline, they only have a couple of flights a day from any given airport, so they only have one security team on a shift.

In some airports, the check-in area for flights to Israel is separated and sometimes has armed guards, regardless of airline. The same goes for the security check and the boarding gate area. Planes flying to Israel are often at the remotest part of the terminal. My guess is that is the decision of the local airport authority.

El Al does have stricter security measures on flights to Israel than you usually encounter. But some airports seem to be just as tight. I've been aware of that in Germany. El Al's checked bag security is higher than any other though. If you have left your luggage in storage anywhere before arriving at the airport, they open it and go through it to make sure nothing's been added, doesn't matter where you've left it or for how long.

Israel's airport security is different from, say, TSA in the U.S. First, they are all young, have all served in the Army, are well-trained to spot suspicious items and behavior and to be polite, helpful and pleasant. They are seriously looking for threats, not infractions of the rules. They are profilers and don't conduct onerous searches on obviously non-threatening people. The downside is that means some people undergo more rigorous procedures just because they fall into certain demographics.

Now here's the thing that always gets me. When you go through security in Israel, there are no restrictions on liquids. Only country in the world, and one that's known to have top security, and you can take all the drinks and shampoo you want from home and carry them onto the plane. Go figure.

Flying from JFK I remember our plane was escorted to the runway by NYPD vehicles both sides of the aircraft, front and rear. Not sure what that was about. Anyone else experience that?

When you go through security in Israel, there are no restrictions on
liquids

Chani, that's incredible!

But some airports seem to be just as tight. I've been aware of that in
Germany.

I noticed that too. We haven't been to Israel yet but have never had our documents checked at so many different points as flying out of Munich.

We just took our brand-new US passports on a trip ... a transatlantic cruise from Florida to Civitavecchia, flights to and from Sicily from FCO, a flight FCO>Frankfurt and then a flight home, and ended up with just one stamp in our passports (from Frankfurt, as we were departing)! The Frankfurt agent was not very happy with his Italian counterparts but he growled and stamped the passports and let us proceed.

Not sure where the slip-up was ... the cruise port?

My experience with Israeli airport security is as described by Chani.